Galactic Unity 2
by Parsec
Summary: [Sequel to Galactic Unity, read that first!]  A discovery on board Xianea's spaceship marks the beginning of a new adventure... and a new danger... [Chapter 9 actually uploaded.  The world must be ending...]
1. Silver

[As is evident by the title, this is a sequel to 'Galactic Unity'.  You'll definitely want to read that first, as you won't know what's going on in this story otherwise.] Galactic Unity 2 By:  Mark J. Hadley 

*          *            *

CHAPTER 1:  "Silver" 

            The city of Townsville, much like the rest of the world, continued about its normal way of life.  People going to work, doing their taxes, going to the movies, buying groceries… even the criminals went back to their daily routine, and the Powerpuff Girls went back to theirs as well.  One almost couldn't tell that anything unusual had happened, but the shadow of recent events was still present in their minds.  They wouldn't easily forget what was, to them, the near destruction of the Earth, even if that day had faded to memory long ago.

            To the girls, however, it was a different experience altogether.  They would always remember the sight of the Earth's destruction, how it forced them into space, the different alien species they encountered, the moments of happiness, of peril, and of sheer amazement.  Most of all, however, they would always remember Xianea, the alien who had shown them so much kindness, even though they were strangers to her.  Xianea had given them the hope and guidance needed to restore the Earth, and had ultimately even given her life to save Buttercup's.  To all the girls, she was one of a kind.

            The only thing they had to remember her by was her ship, the one they had used to return to Earth.  Thankfully, they were able to keep it, because word of its presence on Earth did not spread to other cities.  It didn't take Professor Utonium long to build an underground storage bay for it, attached to his lab, where he could study it at his leisure.  It was a tricky mater, seeing as its technology was far advanced, but he kept at it anyway.  Though the specific workings of the vessel were a mystery to him, he learned a great deal just examining the components themselves, enough info to develop several new technologies eventually.

            This is where he was, spending at least a few hours daily, hoping to find a major breakthrough or discovery.  But sometimes, one can be so close to a discovery that they aren't even aware of its presence…

*          *            *

            Blossom approached the ship where it sat in the launch bay, like a gleaming, silver teardrop on its side.  She poked her head inside through the main hatch, glancing around for a moment before calling out, "Professor?"

            "Over here," came a reply from up ahead, towards the front.  Blossom flew inside and made her way down the center of the ship.  As she did, she couldn't help but smile a little… this had practically been their home for a couple weeks, and it held so many memories during that time.  Her thoughts turned to Xianea again… _I wish she could have been able to see the Earth, to have a chance to meet the professor and everyone else, and to see the world she helped save…_

            When she got up to the cockpit, she found the professor lying on his back beneath the main console, examining some components from an open panel underneath.  He had a tool belt around his waist, and was currently using one of the tools to extract some of the components to examine them.  Blossom landed not far from him and asked, "So, what are you working on today?"

            "Not much," the professor told her.  "Just trying to figure out where the guidance system links up to the singularity generators.  I'm hoping it will give some me some idea as to the level of control needed to stabilize them."

Blossom nodded.  "Any luck so far?"

            Shaking his head, the professor said, "I'm afraid not.  The system is just so… complex.  I can't even begin to understand the physics behind the procedure; the idea that a singularity could accelerate a ship to faster-than-light speeds safely is mind-boggling.  It shouldn't work, and yet it _does._  I wish I could just ask how it works, but… well, you know."

            "Yeah," Blossom said.  They had tried several times in the past to contact some of the other populated worlds out there, or at least the nearest space station, but Earth was apparently out of range of whatever communications grid they used.  The professor compared it to cell phone coverage: a planet like Earth, that was comparatively out in the middle of nowhere, wouldn't be covered by the grid.  Even though they were cut off from the rest of the galaxy, though, he decided it was probably better if he learned the answers for himself anyway.

            Noticing the small pile of removed components lying on the ground next to the professor, Blossom looked concerned and said, "Are you sure you're putting it back together correctly when you take it apart like that?"

            "Of course," the professor said, stopping for a moment to pick up one of the components to show her.  "I've fixed these little tags to them, so I know exactly where each part needs to go back.  I've got everything covered."

            Blossom nodded, "Okay… I just wanted to make sure.  I mean, it sounds like the engine is knocking a little, and I thought something might have been put back wrong…"

            The professor looked a bit confused at this, "Engine knocking?"

            "Um," Blossom shrugged, "I don't know, that's what it sounds like.  Don't you hear it?"

            Stopping to listen for a moment, the professor said, "I don't hear anything."

            Blossom scratched her head for a moment, and then realized she had picked it up on her ultrasonic hearing.  "It's really faint, but there's _something _making knocking sounds back there," she told him.

            "Blossom, the engines are turned off," the professor told her.  "They shouldn't be making _any _noise right now.  The only power that's turned on in this whole ship, in fact, is this console I'm working on."

            "Really?" Blossom asked.  She tried to focus on the sound some more… it was definitely some kind of tapping.  With the professor following her, she flew towards the back section of the ship, trying to zero in on the sound and figure out where it was coming from.  They went down the main corridor in the center, towards the chambers in the back.

            The search took them to Xianea's old quarters.  Like the other sleeping chamber, the one that the girls had used while aboard the ship, this one was fairly simple, geared more towards utility than comfort.  There was a simple bed, and a desk with a computer.  There wasn't anything else of note, but the sound was coming from nearby.  Blossom carefully approached one wall of the chamber and put the side of her head up to it, listening as best she could.  The professor did, also, and he remarked, "I hear it now, too… you're right, what _is _that?"

            Blossom looked around at the wall to see if there was a panel or anything she could pull away from it.  There was a set of symbols up against one portion of the wall that she couldn't read, and what looked like a locked storage unit, sort of like a small locker.  One more listen confirmed that the sound was coming from inside.  "Now what?" she asked.

            "One moment," the professor replied, pulling a tool from his belt.  He carefully use it to loosen the panel safely to take it apart, so that it could be put back together later on without trouble.  The panel came free, and he lifted it off, setting it aside.  The two of them inspected the contents of the storage unit, both perplexed.

            The unit was empty, save for a small, featureless metal sphere, held in place by a clamp affixed to the center to keep it from rolling around.  It looked as though it had been designed specifically for holding the sphere, since the curvature of the clamp ran perfectly along its edge.  The professor reached over and picked up the sphere, removing it carefully from the clamp and holding it in his hand.  It wasn't very large, around the size of a softball.  Although it _looked_ like solid metal, it felt much lighter, as though it were mostly hollow.  Now that he was holding it, he could feel slight vibrations as the barely-audible knocking sounds emanated from it…

*          *            *

            They took the sphere back to the professor's lab.  As it sat on the top of a small pedestal, the professor started running scans on it, the various imaging beams crossing over its surface.  As it did, Blossom watched with interest, along with Bubbles and Buttercup, who had come down to the lab when they heard about the discovery.  "What do you think it is?" Bubbles asked.

            "I'm not quite sure," the professor said, scratching his chin as he examined the readouts.  "My scans are having a hard time penetrating the surface.  Ultrasound is delivering an image, but it's all fuzzy due to some kind of interference.  Probably to protect sensitive components inside."

            "Maybe it's a bomb," Buttercup wondered.

            Blossom shook her head, "Couldn't be.  Centraxians are peaceful, remember?  Why would she be carrying a bomb?"

            "It looks too hard to play catch with," Bubbles remarked.  "Maybe it was just something special to her?"

            "You mean, like an heirloom or keepsake?" Blossom asked.  "That could be.  She certainly kept it well-protected.  But that still doesn't tell us wha—…"

            "Look!" Buttercup said suddenly, pointing at the sphere.  A small seam had suddenly appeared around its hemisphere, going all the way around and dividing it into two equal halves.  This sudden change put everyone on guard… _If this is some kind of device, _Blossom thought, _who knows what it could do when it activates?  _They watched it carefully as the knocking sounds became more audible than before, and the sphere began to visibly move.

            Bubbles was concerned, "What's happening to it?  What's it doing?"

            "I dunno," Buttercup said.  "I don't like this…"

            Blossom started drifting towards it cautiously.  The professor warned her, "Be careful!"  She nodded and approached it, leaning in slowly to take a closer look.  As she did this, the sphere gave a few loud *_clunk*_s, and on one of them, it bucked from its resting point, rolling off the side of the pedestal.  Reflexively, Blossom dove around to the side it fell from and caught it in her hands.

            "Bloss?!" Buttercup exclaimed.

            "I've got it," she said, getting back to her feet.  Before she could say anything else, though, the sphere separated at the seam, the top part lifting just for a moment on one of the knocks before shutting again.  It was startling, but then she realized, as well as everyone else, that something was trying to get out from the inside.  With extreme caution, she grasped the top half of the sphere and lifted it open just barely to get a peek at what was inside.  Her expression showed amazement, and she opened it up the rest of the way so that everyone else could see.

            There was a small creature curled up inside the lower half of the sphere.  It looked vaguely like a lizard, with a scaly, reptilian hide and a long tail.  The skin was metallic, however, and the eyes had a soft, blue glow.  Upon being exposed to the bright light in the lab, it squinted and yawned, one of its tiny hands rubbing its eye.  Even though none of them had ever seen it before, there was just too much familiar about it, and the girls knew instantly what it was: a baby Centraxian.

            Everyone moved in closer to get a better look.  "Awwwww!" Bubbles squealed.  "It's so _cute!_"

            "Wow," Buttercup said, smiling at the sight of it.  "You mean that thing was an _egg?_  I didn't know they hatched from eggs…"

            Blossom nodded, and added, "It's adorable!  What do you think, Professor?"

            The professor gave a warm smile, but it barely masked the scientific intrigue that showed in his eyes.  "Amazing… so this is a Centraxian?  It looks a lot like you described, a biomechanical life form… no wonder the shell was metallic as well.  Fascinating…"

            "Can we keep it, Professor?" Bubbles asked with a smile.

            "It's not a pet, Bubbles," The professor told her, watching as the little Centraxian looked up at them with blinking eyes.  "It's a sentient being.  One day, this little baby will grow up to be a highly intelligent full-grown adult.  It'll take a lot more to care for it during that time… much like raising a _human_ child, I would imagine."

            "Yeah," Blossom agreed.  "I can just imagine what we can learn from her, too.  I mean, him… I mean…"  She hesitated, and said, "Um, is it a boy or a girl?"

            The professor blinked, looking down at the Centraxian and said, "I… can't really tell.  It's an alien species, after all.  Its biology is different than ours.  Still…"  He picked up a small pair of tweezers from a nearby table and very carefully got a tiny skin sample.  The baby didn't even seem to notice, it just continued looking up at the girls.  Once he got the sample, he took it over to the microscope to study it.

            "It reminds me of Xianea, especially those eyes," Buttercup remarked, reaching out to tickle the baby under the chin, "Hello, little fellah!"  The baby closed its eyes and made a soft, high-pitched noise that sounded something like a laugh.

            "I wonder if this _is _Xianea's child," Blossom wondered.  "The egg was in her room, I mean…"

            Bubbles glanced up, "I wonder why she never said anything about it."

            "Probably for privacy," Blossom guessed.  "She probably didn't… well, didn't expect that she wouldn't be coming back…"

            "Yeah…" Buttercup said, sadly.

            The professor spoke up from where he was studying the skin sample, "Absolutely amazing… the cells are actually little microscopic robots, just like you described.  They're duplicating the functions of an organic cell down to every last detail.  I'm even seeing what looks like artificial chromosome activity in the center.  A quick scan, and I think…"  He glanced over at an adjacent monitor to watch the scan's results

            After a few moments of silence, the girls said together, "Yes?"

            The professor grinned at the results and said, "Congratulations, it's a boy!"

            Beaming, the girls looked down at the baby, who had wriggled the rest of the way out of his shell and into Blossom's arms, giving a triumphant squeak when it did so.  Blossom set the shell aside and held the baby, asking the others, "What should we name him?"

            "How about Shiny?  'Cause of his silver skin?" Bubbles suggested.

            "Nah, that's no good," Buttercup said, shaking her head.

            Blossom looked down at the baby, and he looked back directly at her.  With a smile, she said, "How about just 'Silver' then?"

            "Hmm…" Buttercup said.  "Actually, I like that!"

            "Me too!" Bubbles agreed, then hopped up and down, "Silver, Silver, Silver, whee!"

            Blossom grinned, and watched Silver as he gave a small yawn before falling asleep.  The four of them headed for the exit to the lab together.  _Wow, _Blossom thought, _we're going to raise a Centraxian!  I hope we can figure out how to do it right.  I'm sure we will… he may be an alien, but as far as I'm concerned, he's like family, like a little baby brother.  But also, it's like a final gift from Xianea.  Wherever you are, Xianea, thank you…_

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	2. Growth

Galactic Unity 2

By:  Mark J. Hadley

*          *            *

CHAPTER 2:  "Growth" 

            "Professor?"

            The professor looked over from where he was making dinner in the kitchen.  Silver was standing by the entrance from the living room; he stood close to three feet tall now, and was looking more and more like the girls' description of a Centraxian every day.  Smiling at the sight of him, the professor said, "Oh, hello, Silver!  How are the wings doing today?"

            "Great!" Silver replied, flexing the tiny wings on his back.  They had not yet fully grown in, but were just barely starting to form.  He walked over so that the professor could get a better look.

            Nodding, the professor said, "You're getting so tall now… I could swear you've grown an inch since the last time I saw you."  Inwardly, the professor wasn't surprised at this, seeing as Silver had grown so quickly in the first place.  He was the size of a large iguana after only one day, and began walking upright on the second day.  By the third day, he was already picking up language, learning at an incredible rate.  The professor attributed this to something the girls mentioned before, about how everything a Centraxian learns is passed along to their children in their genetic programming, even if they couldn't access it directly.  He figured this meant he had some kind of instinctive yet subconscious access to it.

            Now, Silver was only four days old and already almost the equivalent of a child in elementary school.  He was so inquisitive, too… even when he was just crawling about, he seemed like he wanted to learn as much about everything as he could.  As soon as he learned to speak, his first few hours of speech consisted mostly of questions.  And yet, despite this overwhelming curiosity, he seldom got into any trouble, usually preferring to ask questions about something rather than tamper with it himself, in case it was dangerous.

            "So, what can I do for you?" the professor asked him, shaking himself out of his thoughts.

            "The girls and I were going to play for a while before dinner," he said, "but is it okay if I have something now?  I'm hungry…"

            "Not a problem," the professor replied, walking over to the refrigerator, "but just a little, okay?  We don't want you spoiling your meal."  Silver smiled and nodded an okay, and the professor pulled the refrigerator open, pulling out a large metal thermos.  He took a small glass and poured a little bit of the mixture into it, the softly glowing purple liquid filling it up halfway.  The professor was thankful that there was still a little bit of this energy-based drink amongst the supplies recovered from Xianea's ship, enough for him to figure out the formula and duplicate it accurately enough.

            He handed the glass over to Silver, who said, "Thanks, Professor!"

            "You're welcome," the professor said, turning back to his preparation of dinner.  Silver headed out of the kitchen, and the professor gave him a small glance, smiling.  Even though he had only been around for a few days, it was fascinating to watch how quickly his species grew and developed, but even more so, it was beginning to feel like he was truly part of the family, even in that short of a time.  He anticipated many long years of learning and discovery together, and looked forward to it.

*          *            *

            Buttercup rolled a die across the center of the board, "C'mon four, c'mon…"  When it came up a three, she clenched her teeth and moved her piece, in the shape of Val Halen, three squares forward.  She landed on a trouble square, to her dismay and to the smiles of Silver and the other girls.  Buttercup sighed; she always seemed to have the worst luck when playing 'Justice Friends: The Board Game'.  "All right, gimme a card already," she huffed.

            Silver drew from the stack of trouble cards and read it aloud, "Uh oh!  The bad guys beat the tar out of you.  Move back to start."

            "_Nuts!_" Buttercup exclaimed, grabbing her piece and moving it back to the beginning of the board.  She folded her arms and muttered, "Lousy… stupid…"

            "Aw, c'mon, it's not _that _bad," Blossom told her.  "You're still not far behind Bubbles.  But yeah, I guess it's pretty much just between me and Silver now."

            Shaking his head, Silver scooped up the die from the board and said, "No it isn't… you know why?"

            "Why?" Bubbles asked.

            "Because _I'm _going to win!" he taunted, rolling the die.  It came up a six, and he gleefully moved his piece, White Tiger, six squares forward.  Leaning back from the board, he scooped up his glass sitting next to the board and took another sip from it, as Bubbles picked up the die to take her own turn.

            "Ahh, it's all right," Buttercup said.  "Your luck won't last forever… I'll beat ya one of these days.  How about another game after dinner?"

            Blossom shook her head and said, "We can't stay up late… it's Sunday, remember?  It's a school night."

            "Oh, right," Buttercup said, frowning.

            Silver gave a puzzled look, and asked, "School?"

            "Yeah," Bubbles told him.  "It's where we go to learn.  Us and all the other kids in Townsville, I mean.  Our teacher, Ms. Keane, teaches us all kinds of things there…"

            Brightening at the sound of that, Silver asked, "Can I go to this school also?"

            "The professor doesn't want you to leave the house, you know that," Blossom told him.  "Besides, he can teach you everything you need to know."

            "Yeah, I know," Silver said, looking down wistfully at the board.  "It's just… you know, there's so much outside this house that I want to see.  I keep hearing all of you talking about it, and… it just seems like I could learn a lot more out there, you know?"

            Blossom grinned a little inwardly.  _Natural explorers, _she thought, _even when they're only a few days old._  "Well, we can talk to the professor in a few days or something.  I'm not sure it's safe for you out there; I mean, you can't even fly yet…"

            "Neither can the professor," Silver pointed out.

            "Just trust me on this," Blossom told him.  "Not until you can fly, okay?  It'll be safer for you that way."

            Silver thought about this, then reluctantly agreed, "All right…"  They all turned their attention back to the game, but the girls noticed that Silver continued to look a little dejected.  _I can't really blame him, _Blossom thought.  _Being cooped up in the house all the time, and all.  But really, it's for his own good.  I don't think Townsville's quite ready for an alien yet…_

*          *            *

            "Bye, Professor!" the girls called out in unison, flying out of the front door of the house.

            The professor waved as they flew off, calling out, "Have a good day at school, girls!"  Smiling, he shut the door and started to walk back into the living room, but stopped practically toe-to-toe with Silver, who was standing behind him.  He had grown another six inches overnight, and his wings were also much larger now.  He was looking up hopefully at the professor, who shook his head and said, "Not today, Silver.  I'm sorry."

            "Aww…" Silver said, hanging his head and turning around.  As the professor headed off in the direction of his lab, Silver sat down on the couch, resting his head in hands.  He watched the door to the lab close, and sighed, staring down at the ground, thinking, _So much to see out there… so much to learn… and I'm stuck in here.  The professor's smart and everything, but I want to see what the rest of the world has to offer._

            He gave the door to the lab another tentative glance, then slowly got up and headed for the rear of the house, slipping out the back door.  _The backyard is still part of the house, _he thought, _so technically, I'm not going anywhere.  _Once he was outside, he looked around the back of the house for a few moments, studying it, before he found a surface he believed he could climb.  He managed to sprout tiny claws, which aided the climbing process a bit.  After about a couple minutes worth of effort, he made his way up onto the roof.

            Once there, he sat on the edge and looked out at the tall skyscrapers of Townsville in the distance.  The sight of it intrigued him since he first laid eyes on it… a city, full of knowledge and experience.  He had spent much of the past few days thinking about it, asking questions about the people who lived there, but it's one thing to know about something, and another to learn it firsthand.  He was feeling it, the Centraxian drive to gather knowledge, even if he wasn't aware of its origin.

            A small bird flew overheard, distracting Silver from the city.  He watched as it flapped its wings, a simple yet complex motion to stay aloft, occasionally stopping to simply glide.  The bird gradually flew out of sight, off towards the buildings closer to Townsville.  Silver gave a glance at his own wings over his shoulder, flexing them a bit and testing their strength.  _Maybe it's time, _he thought.  _After all, Blossom said that once I was able to fly…_

            Getting to his feet, he swished his tail behind him and tried flapping his wings a bit.  It was obviously going to be different than that bird, since the wings were placed further on his back, and weren't attached to his arms in any way.  Still, as he flapped, it felt familiar, as though he had known how to fly his entire life and was only just now remembering.  With more confidence, he gave stronger flaps, then crouched a bit and leapt into the air.

            He didn't fall back down… fully, anyway.  His wings kept him aloft, more or less hovering, although he was sinking a bit.  He compensated by flapping harder, and found himself smiling widely.  _I did it, _he thought… _I'm flying!  It's finally time!  _With some more effort, he soared away from the rooftop, gaining altitude until he believed he was high enough, and began gliding swiftly towards Townsville.  He was in unfamiliar territory now, leaving behind everything he had known his entire life, but he felt no uncertainty, only a feeling that this was where he belonged, exploring the unknown…

*          *            *

            Ms. Keane put the art supplies out for the Pokey Oaks Kindergarten class to use, and the materials were distributed amongst the students.  Buttercup got a hold of the paste and began gluing things together into statues… pretty much whatever she could get her hands on, like pencils or rulers.  Blossom was working with some clay instead, and Bubbles, as usual, got a box of crayons and started drawing.  It was messy, along with everything else the other kids were doing, but Ms. Keane was used to this daily routine all the same.

            All three of the girls had similar design elements in mind, though.  Buttercup put some finishing touches on her gluey mess, which was vaguely shaped like a person, with pencils sticking out of the mass of glue like arms and legs, although it also had a tail and wings.  "There, whaddaya think?" Buttercup asked proudly, but then quickly grabbed hold of the sides of the figure to keep it from toppling over.

            "Not bad," Blossom said, swiveling her lump of clay around so that Buttercup could get a look at it.  She had sculpted it in the shape of Silver's head, and it was fairly close, if lacking detail.  "I wish we had gray clay instead of brown, it would have looked more like him."

            Bubbles hummed to herself as she drew her own picture, the girls and Silver all in a line holding hands.  She smiled as she finished coloring in Silver with the appropriate color, and added the blue to his eyes.  She added the Professor standing in the back, and wrote 'One big happy family' along the top.  With a flourish, she set down her crayons and said, "There!  All done!"

            Blossom flew over to get a better look and said, "Nice job, Bubbles!  That one's a keeper.  What do you think, Buttercup?"

            Craning her neck to see, she asked, "Can ya hold it up?  I don't wanna let go of this 'til it dries…"

            Before Bubbles could comply, though, the hotline buzzed.  Blossom immediately dashed over and answered the phone, saying, "Yes, Mayor?"

            "Girls, hurry!" the mayor's voice came on the other side of the phone.  "They've spotted another monster in Townsville!"

            "We're on our way!" Blossom said, hanging up.  She turned to the others and said, "C'mon, girls!  Another monster attacking the city!"

            "But…" Buttercup said, looking down at the statue she was holding together, then back at Blossom.

            Shaking her head, Blossom said, "You can fix it later.  Let's go!"  She and Bubbles flew out of the building, and Buttercup sighed in frustration, letting go of the figure, which immediately collapsed into a heap on the table.  She flew after them and caught up after a few seconds.

            They left the suburbs and soared into the city, glancing around to try and locate the monster.  Something immediately struck Blossom as being different.  "Strange," she said, "I don't see any signs of devastation… the city looks like it's in one piece…"

            "Look!" Buttercup shouted, pointing.  A large crowd of people had gathered near an alley.  Most of the people were armed with makeshift weapons, like garbage can lids or bricks.  The girls descended and landed near them, and Buttercup called out, "All right, what's goin' on?"

            "We chased the monster into the alley," one of the Townsville people said proudly.  "We've got 'em trapped!"

            "Good work, but we'll take it from here," Blossom said, motioning for the other girls to follow.  The three of them headed into the alley, which went for a short ways before it came to a dead end up against a brick wall.  There were piles of garbage around, and they glanced amongst them, trying to locate the monster.  Everything seemed quiet, until a pile of empty boxes near the end of the alley shifted slightly.  Blossom motioned quietly to the girls to circle around, and the three surrounded it on different sides.  While Buttercup and Bubbles braced themselves for the attack, Blossom knocked the empty boxes aside with a quick shove.

            "No, don't!" came a voice from the cowering figure underneath.  The girls froze, because they recognized who it was almost instantly.  Silver was lying on the ground behind where the boxes were, with his legs and tail curled up to his chest and covering his head with his hands protectively.  Not feeling any attack coming, he gradually lifted his head to see who it was, looking relieved when he recognized them.  The girls gasped at the sight of him, though… he had a few small bruises, and one large bruise on the side of his head where something had struck him, probably a brick someone had thrown.  His left wing was battered as though he had smashed it into something.

            "Silver!" Bubbles exclaimed.  "Are you okay?!"

            "I… I think… ow…" Silver said, trying to sit up.  The girls quickly helped him to his feet, and he held the side of his head in pain.  "Thanks… when I heard the noises… I thought one of the people were coming over…"

            Blossom, looking concerned and confused at the same time, asked, "What are you doing out of the house?  How'd you get here?"

            "Well…" Silver admitted, "I figured out how to fly… so I… y'know… decided to take a look at the town.  But when I flew down to talk to someone… they panicked… a lot of people started running, but some started picking up things and throwing them…"  He winced at the memory as he continued, "I tried to fly away, but one of them hit me on the head, and knocked me out of the air.  I smashed my wing up when I landed, so I just tried to get away.  They chased me into here… but why?  It doesn't make any sense, I…"

            "I'm sorry," Blossom said.  "The people of Townsville can be really jumpy when it comes to… outsiders."

            "Yeah, 'specially an alien like you…" Buttercup nodded.  She realized what she said a moment later and covered her mouth, but it was too late.

            Silver looked a bit stunned, and said, "I'm… not from Earth, am I?"  The girls all gave slow shakes of their heads, and he blinked a few times, saying, "I thought so… I mean, nobody else looked like me, it was pretty obvious… I had my suspicions that I at least wasn't human.  But not even from the planet…?"

            "C'mon, let's get you home," Blossom said, "The professor will fix you up, and we'll explain everything once we're back there."   The three of them carefully picked him up, being careful not to hurt him further, and flew up and out of the alley to avoid the crowd.  As they soared for home, Blossom thought, _That could have gone better… but I suppose he was eventually going to find out either way.  I just hope he'll be okay with it… and I hope we can convince the town to be okay with him…_

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	3. Voyage

Galactic Unity 2

By:  Mark J. Hadley

*          *            *

CHAPTER 3:  "Voyage" 

            The professor carefully lifted the ice pack from the side of Silver's head to inspect the bruise.  It was already getting much smaller, healing at a rapid pace much like his wing, which was nearing the point of being useful again.  The efficiency of the Centraxians' robotic cells at growth and repair amazed him, and he expected that even if the wound were serious, he could probably make a full recovery from it.  "How are you feeling?"

            "Better," Silver said, sitting up slightly from the couch where he was lying.  He looked over at the girls, hovering nearby to make sure he was all right, and smiled slightly before lowered his eyes a bit.  "Professor, I'm sorry…"

            "No, I'm the one who should be sorry," the professor told him.  "I should have told you everything sooner.  I guess I wasn't sure how you'd react… I see now that you're a lot more adaptive than I expected."

            Silver nodded, and asked, "So, as you were saying, the Centraxians… they're explorers?"

            "Yeah," Blossom said.  "Their whole purpose is to try and learn as much as they possibly can.  Everything they learn is imprinted onto their cells, and even passed on to their children.  This way, they can take everything they learn back to Centraxia, so it can be entered into the Repository of Knowledge."

            Silver looked intrigued by this, and asked, "This Repository, have you seen it?"

            Buttercup nodded, "Yeah, it's this _huge _building, like a couple miles tall…"

            "It's bigger than _anything_," Bubbles said, spreading her arms out to the sides.  "An' inside, it looks even _bigger!_"

            "We went there once with your mother, Xianea," Blossom told him.  Her expression saddened slightly, and she added, "I really wish you could have met her… she was one of the nicest people in the galaxy…"

            "Xianea…" Silver repeated, lost in thought.  "You know, maybe I still can, in a way."

            Looking puzzled, Bubbles asked, "What do you mean?"

            "You said that Centraxians pass on everything they learned, right?" Silver pointed out.  "Well, wouldn't I be able to access Xianea's memories, then?"

            "Hey yeah, you're right!" Buttercup exclaimed.  "Cool!"

            "Can you access anything right now?" the professor asked.

            "I don't think so," Silver replied, pausing to think harder.  He shook his head after a moment and said, "No, I don't remember a thing.  Although everything you've been talking about… I have this feeling, like I've thought about it before…"

            "Déjà vu?" Blossom asked.

            "Sort of…" Silver said.  He shook his head a little and said, "But we're getting off-topic now.  I'm a Centraxian, and you're all Earthlings.  The question is, do I belong here?"

            "Of course you do," Bubbles told him.  "You're like family."

            "To you, yes," Silver said.  "To everyone else… after what happened earlier, I don't know… I don't think I'll be accepted by them…"

            "Give them time," the professor said.  "They were the same way with my girls when they were first created.  The people may fear what they don't understand, but once they get comfortable with you, you'll be just as welcome as anyone else."

            "I guess you're right," Silver nodded.  "But… I just wish there were more of my kind around here, you know?  I feel… alone, in a way.  I know more about Earth than I do about my own species…"

            Blossom suddenly brightened, "We could fix that!"

            "Hm?" Buttercup said  "What do you mean?"

            "Why not take a trip to Centraxia?" Blossom proposed.  "We still have Xianea's ship.  We could visit, and Silver could learn all about his origins, and while we're there, we could also get the Repository to unlock all of Xianea's memories from him, so he can remember her."

            "Oh wow, really?" Silver said, growing excited at the idea.  He looked at the professor hopefully, "Professor, can we?"

            "Now, hold on," the professor said.  "I can't just let the four of you head off into deep space all by yourselves.  It's dangerous, even for you girls."  As the others started to sadden, the professor grinned and added, "Besides, it sounds like fun.  Count me in!"

            "Yayy!" Bubbles shouted.  "We're going to Cen… cen… traxika…"

            Buttercup said, "All right!  When do we leave?"

            "Let me just make all the arrangements first, supplies and such," the professor said, "and we could be ready to leave as early as tonight.  Now, everyone go and pack!"  The girls flew upstairs in a flash of light, and as Silver started to stand up, the professor told him, "Not you… you need to rest and finish healing, young man.  Got it?"

            "Got it," Silver nodded.  A second later he added, "Thank you, Professor."  The professor smiled back at him and got up to begin preparing for the trip.  _This will give me the chance to learn more about their advanced technology, _he thought.  _To see the ship in operation alone would be a huge help.  But mostly, how could I pass up the opportunity to see something as fantastic as the Repository of Knowledge, quite possibly the largest database of information in the universe?_

*          *            *

            Blossom flew into the holding bay of the shuttle, setting down the box she was carrying.  "That's the last of the supplies.  Do you think that's enough, Professor?"

            "I think so," the professor nodded.  "We'll probably only be gone a week at most, but it never hurts to be prepared."  He did another count of the supplies and scribbled the numbers down on the pad of paper he was carrying, while Blossom sat down on the edge of the box to take a break.

            "I can't believe we're really going," Blossom said, sounding excited.  "Professor, you're going to love it out there.  Centraxia is a beautiful planet."

            The professor nodded as he finished his inventory, and looked over, "Now, you're sure you remember how to fly the ship, right?"

            "Of course!" Blossom said.  "Xianea did a good job teaching me… but anyway, it's not too difficult.  I can show you during the trip if you want."

            With a chuckle, the professor said, "Oh, I'm sure I could figure it out if I had to.  But I do appreciate your helpfulness.  Maybe I'll look over your shoulder a bit as we go, how does that sound?"

            "Great!" Blossom smiled.  "Now… you managed to get in contact with the A.W.S.M., right?  As much as I don't like them, someone _does _need to watch Townsville while we're gone…"

            "Don't worry, they agreed," the professor said.  "They owe you a favor, after all."

            The other girls flew into the bay a moment later.  Both of them looked just as excited as Blossom was.  Buttercup told him, "Hey, Professor!  We packed the spacesuits, like you asked, we're all ready to go."

            "Thanks," the professor said.  "Where's Silver?"

            "He's up in the front," Bubbles said.  "Buckled into his seat already."

            Blossom grinned, "Well, we know _someone's _anxious to go."  She looked over at the professor for his okay, and the professor smiled back a bit, giving a thumbs-up.  With a cheer, the girls flew out of the bay towards the cockpit, and the professor followed after them.

            As they went up front, Buttercup tossed something over to Blossom, who caught it and gave a questioning glance back.  Buttercup grinned, "Those translators.  We'll need 'em, remember?"

            "Oh, right," Blossom nodded, brushing her hair aside and putting them in place.  Buttercup did the same with her own translators, but Bubbles, of course, didn't need them.  Blossom realized they didn't have a pair for either Silver or the professor, but she figured they'd be fine for a while without them.

            By the time the professor caught up with the girls in the cockpit, all of them were in their seats already, with Blossom in the pilot's chair in the front, and Silver in his own seat, grinning widely and kicking his legs in anticipation.  The professor secured himself into his seat, one of the ones right behind Blossom, and fished a small remote control device out of his pocket.  He looked around at everyone, then nodded, saying, "Let's do it."  With that, he clicked the button on the remote.

            Outside the ship, the roof of the launch bay slid open slowly, the stars becoming visible in the night sky above.  The hillside near the house made the perfect launch exit, just as he had used it for the Dynamo a while back.  As soon as the doors were all the way open, he nodded to Blossom, and she activated the ship, her hands flying across the controls like a pro… the engines started up, and the ship lifted into the air, emerging from the hillside.  Once it was high enough, the launch doors closed beneath them as the ship turned up towards the sky and took off.

            Outside the windows, the lights in the city of Townsville brightened the dark terrain below.  Silver watched as it grew smaller and smaller beneath them, and said, "It sure is beautiful from up here.  When we get back, remind me to take a flight around the city one night."

            "Yeah, that's always fun," Buttercup nodded.  "Right, Bubbles?"  Bubbles shook her head a bit since she still didn't like the dark too much.

            Townsville shrank beneath them until it eventually disappeared altogether, as the ship flew out of the atmosphere of Earth, rising towards the stars.  The professor watched the view of the earth below out of the window, and said, "It's a wonderful sight, isn't it?  Makes you realize just how insignificant we can be, compared to the scale of the whole planet… and compared to the whole galaxy, how insignificant the Earth itself can be."

            "Yeah," Blossom nodded, watching the sight also, "but still, a few people can make a difference… just like we did, the last time we were out here."  She focused back on the controls as she piloted the ship and told him, "We had such a big impact on the galaxy, and in such a short time.  Sometimes I wonder just how long-lasting our actions will be… if some of the planets out there will still talk about us in thousands of years…"

            "Indeed," the professor said, then looked over Blossom's shoulder at the controls she was manipulating, studying their functions.  "You're plotting a course there, aren't you?"

            Blossom brought up a chart on the screen, and it started calculating a trajectory for the ship.  She said, "I'm taking us to Paradise Fringe first; we should be able to send a message to Centraxia from there.  Everyone, brace yourselves."  Bubbles and Buttercup quickly secured themselves more tightly in their seats, and the professor and Silver followed suit.

            As the engines powered up, the professor exclaimed, "This is it!  I'm finally going to see a singularity jump in effect… I can barely contain my excitement!"

            "Just make sure you can contain the contents of your stomach, Professor," Blossom warned him, and activated the singularity generators.  The ship lurched forward as the singularity blinked into existence, pulling the ship along on its course before vanishing, leaving the Earth behind and rocketing them into deep space…

*          *            *

            Buttercup knocked on the door to the waste removal chamber and called out, "Professor, you okay in there?"

            "I'm fine," came the reply from the other side of the door.  "Just give me another minute…"  Buttercup grinned and flew back to her seat, remembering how unpleasant their own first singularity jumps were.  As she sat down, she gave a glance over at Silver, who still looked a little dizzy, but then noticed Buttercup watching her and gave a thumbs up to indicate he was okay.

            Bubbles leaned over the back of her seat and said, "Aren't you excited, Silver?  It won't be long now."

            Silver nodded, "Yeah…"

            Noticing that he looked a little troubled, Bubbles asked, "What's wrong?"

            "Well," Silver said, pausing for a moment before taking a deep breath and continuing, "it just occurred to me that… well, I was out of place on Earth, because I was an alien.  Even though everything I learned was learned there, I still didn't really fit in.  Now, here I am going back to Centraxia, ready to meet others of my own kind, but…"

            "But what?" Buttercup asked.

            "…but I know almost nothing about them," Silver told them.  "The only thing I really share in common with them is their species.  I grew up on Earth, so… I feel like an Earthling, not a Centraxian.  So really, I feel like I'll be almost as out-of-place there as I would be on Earth.  It makes me wonder… is there really anywhere for me to be in my place?"

            "Of course there is," Bubbles said with a smile.  "With us."

            Buttercup nodded, "Yeah, you're our brother, man.  We'll always be there for you, right?"

            Silver smiled back at them, but before he could say anything, Blossom's voice came from the front seat, interrupting things a little, "That's odd…"  The three of them looked over curiously, and the professor emerged from the waste disposal chamber in time to hear her continue, "I'm still not getting any kind of messages on our communications.  I mean, we're almost to Paradise Fringe; we should be getting _something _by now, at least from the station."

            "That _is _odd," Silver remarked.  "Maybe our communication equipment isn't working?"

            Blossom shrugged a little, "I'm not sure.  Professor, did you take it apart at all when you were studying it?"

            "No, I hadn't started on that part of the ship yet," the professor told them.  "I was occupied with the singularity generator most of the time…"

            "Either way, we're almost there," Blossom said.  "Have a seat, everyone, I'm going to slow the ship back down in a second…"  Everyone scrambled back to their seats as Blossom worked the controls.  Once everything was in place, the singularity generators kicked in, jarring the ship to a halt once again.  The professor and Silver both looked disoriented from the effects of the stop, but they managed to shake it off quickly.  The ship, once again back at sub-light speeds, drifted forward, towards the station which now became visible in the distance.  Except…

            "Something's wrong," Blossom said, looking at it through the window.  It was definitely Paradise Fringe, but it looked strangely vacant.  There were a few lights on the station, but not as many as they remembered, and there were only a couple ships docked.  It was almost as though the station had been abandoned, or mostly abandoned.  Blossom checked the charts on the screen to confirm their location and said, "This _is_ Paradise Fringe all right…"

            "Of _course_ it is," Buttercup agreed.  "But what's goin' on?"

            "Yeah, where is everyone?" Bubbles asked.

            "Hold on," Blossom said, working the controls and opening up communications.  She transmitted, "Hello?  Is anyone out there?"

            There were a few moments of silence, but then the communications panel lit up as they received a vocal transmission.  It spoke in an alien language, which the translators automatically changed into English for the benefit of everyone on-board, "Yes, hello… dock quickly, and shut down communications as soon as possible.  We don't want _them_ tracing it back here…"

            "Who?" Blossom asked back into the transmitter.

            "The invaders," the voice replied.  "Please, just comply.  Or leave."  

            Everyone glanced around at each other, and Blossom answered, "Okay… okay, we're coming in…"  She shut down communications and started guiding the ship over to one of the docking bays, as everyone began to ponder the ominous message, and wondering who these 'invaders' were.  Whatever it was, it had spooked the once-busy station, and either way, they knew that the answers lay there…

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	4. Invasion

Galactic Unity 2

By:  Mark J. Hadley

*          *            *

CHAPTER 4:  "Invasion" 

            The airlock doors opened, allowing the five to step out of their shuttle and into the station.  It looked different than the girls remembered… the lights were dimmed, as though running on emergency power, and none of the frequent computer panels along the docking corridor were active.  There also used to be a lot more traffic than what was present now; not a single entity was in the area, giving the impression that the station was abandoned.

            It was only empty for a moment, though, as someone approached from the far end.  The alien was recognizable as the species that had formerly made up the bulk of the Gyahembu, except he was less muscular, and did not bear the bladed star symbol anywhere on his uniform.  He gave them an interesting look as he approached, "One Centraxian… and four of a species I'm not familiar with.  Welcome; I am Gilceeyn, the current head of the station."

            "Pleased to meet you," Blossom said, indicating herself and the others, "My name's Blossom… this is Bubbles, Buttercup, Professor Utonium, and Silver."

            Gilceeyn nodded, "Visitors… I apologize for the abrupt end to the communications, but it was necessary for our safety.  I can only hope your transmissions weren't picked up in that time."

            "What happened to this place?" Buttercup asked.

            "It's a long story," Gilceeyn told them.  "One best explained back at my office.  Please, follow me…"  He was about to turn to head out, but paused as he noticed Silver and the professor giving the girls confused glances.  "Is something the matter?"

            "Not really," Blossom said, shaking her head.  "They just don't have any translators.  Do you have any spares?"

            "I might, I'll have to check," Gilceeyn answered.  For their benefit, he motioned to show that he wanted them to follow, and started off into the station.  The five followed close behind him as they boarded a lift that would take them into the heart of the station.

            When they reached the main thoroughfare of the station, they were shocked to see it in disarray.  The shops all appeared to be closed, and species of all kinds were milling around, many of them lying up against the wall wounded, with others treating them.  The girls knew something was wrong, that there had been a big battle or something, and whatever it was, it was probably tied to the 'invaders' that had been mentioned during the earlier communication with the station.  As interested as he was to see all the different alien species, the professor was troubled by the sight of all the wounded, and although he was no doctor, he wondered if there was some way he could help them out.  Silver just continued to take everything in, his face showing a mixture of concern and intrigue himself.

            Bubbles asked the obvious question as they continued through the area, "Was there a fight?"

            "Yes, but not here," Gilceeyn replied.  "We're just acting as a refuge for the injured at the moment.  The last thing we want is the fighting to come _here._"  He approached a door off to one side and keyed in an entry code at the panel next to it.  The door slid open, and he motioned for them to go inside.

            It looked like the room had once been a storage area, modified into a makeshift office.  There was a desk with a portable computer terminal set up on it, a chair behind the desk, and a few medical supplies set up along some shelves against the wall.  Gilceeyn moved around the opposite side of the desk and said, "Being a doctor myself, I thought it would be best if I stayed close to the wounded at all times."

            "Yeah, that's a good idea," Blossom nodded.

            Rummaging through some supplies at the desk, Gilceeyn said, "I think I have a spare set of translators around here… ah, yes, here we are."  He withdrew the tiny devices from the pile and handed them over to Professor Utonium, who carefully inserted them into his ears.  Gilceeyn looked over at Silver and said, "Although, I'm a bit surprised to see a Centraxian that doesn't already speak every language there is…"

            "Ah, excellent, they work," the professor said with a smile, then explained, "Well, this is Silver's first time leaving home, so he hasn't had the opportunity to learn any languages yet."

            "I'm aware that they can learn it telepathically somehow," Gilceeyn said.  "Perhaps he can learn it from me?"

            "Maybe," Blossom said, then turned and addressed Silver, "Centraxians can learn things like languages telepathically.  I remember Xianea doing it before.  Do you think you could do it?"

            "I dunno," Silver said, "I'll try…"  Gilceeyn moved closer, and Silver placed his hand on his forehead, concentrating.  There was a soft glow, and Silver grinned a little, withdrawing his hand and saying, "Hey, I think it worked!"

            "You can understand me?" Gilceeyn asked.  When Silver nodded, he said, "Good… all right, now allow me to answer your questions."  He took a seat at the desk.

            Blossom moved forward a little and said, "You mentioned something about 'invaders' before… who are they?"

            He sighed slightly and said, "I don't know.  Nobody does… they're a species that none of us have encountered before.  We don't even know what to call them… so far, we've just been referring to them as the Invaders, until we have some idea.  They showed up without warning, and attacked on sight… a few planets fell to them even _before_ the Galactic Monitors arrived to repel them.  It was more than the Monitors could handle, though, and that first group of them was rumored to have been obliterated."

            "Wow," Buttercup said.  "Those robots are tough, too… I can't imagine something strong enough to beat 'em so easily…"

            "What do the Invaders look like?" the professor asked.  "What is their offensive capability?"

            "Again, I couldn't tell you," Gilceeyn said.  "I haven't seen them for myself, although the survivors all have conflicting descriptions of them.  Their ships and weapons don't conform to anything we've ever seen, that's for sure.  Some of our scientists are theorizing that they aren't even from our dimension."

            "Can't anyone stop them?" Bubbles said nervously.

            Gilceeyn shook his head, "The Monitors are working on it, but it has apparently been a losing battle so far.  At least the reports say that despite how odd their methods of combat are, they _are _still vulnerable to conventional weaponry.  As long as this is true, we still have a fighting chance, all of us.  And I assure you, we won't give up so easily."

            "There has got to be some way we can help," Blossom said.  "We can't fight a war, but there must be _something _we can do."

            After a few seconds of silence, while everyone pondered the situation, Silver spoke up, "I have an idea…"

            Bubbles asked, "What's that?"

            "It's actually kind of simple, when you think about it," Silver suggested, "but don't you think we can ask the Repository of Knowledge?  I mean, if there's any way to stop them, wouldn't it be able to figure it out?"

            "You're right…" Blossom said, brightening, "You're right!  That's it, that's the answer!"  She quickly turned to Gilceeyn, "We need to get to Centraxia… do you know if the way is clear there?"

            Gilceeyn was already pulling up a star chart on his computer console, "The last reports indicated that they attacked monitor stations across this area…"  He pointed to the diagram, which lit up a group of systems in red.  He pointed to another system and said, "Centraxia is here, so I wouldn't take a direct route.  You should head to this nebula, here, which should give you cover to change direction towards your destination without being spotted.  That way, you should avoid conflict entirely."

            "Great," the professor said.  He looked back at the door and asked, "Do you need any help here treating the wounded?"

            Gilceeyn shut off the computer console and said, "No, you can help us much more by getting to Centraxia, if it will mean finding a solution to…"  A beep from the computer panel interrupted him, and he pressed a button, speaking towards it, "Gilceeyn here."

            A voice came through that spoke in an urgent tone, "Commander, three ships just dropped out of faster-than-light outside the station."

            Gilceeyn frowned a little, "Friendly?"

            "I don't think so, sir," came the reply.

            "Go to alert status!" he quickly ordered.  Within moments, an alert klaxon began wailing through the station, and he stood up from the desk, facing the others, "We need to get you to your ship right away.  Your success on Centraxia is probably the best chance we've got."

            "Agreed," the professor nodded.

            "We can help defend the station," Blossom suggested.

            "There are only three ships," Gilceeyn said, shaking his head.  "We can handle it.  Just go, quickly!"  He ushered them out of the office as he spoke.  Outside the door, people were in a rush, arming themselves with whatever they could, and those that could move were getting to safer battle positions.  The group made their way quickly towards the lift on the far end leading back to their ship.

            An impact rocked the station, and everyone grabbed hold of something to steady themselves.  The lights flickered, and a mechanical voice announced, "Power reserves critical, routing power to essential systems only."  Everyone was thinking the same thing, that the station was being fired upon.

            Reaching the lift, Gilceeyn frowned at the panel next to it, which was no longer lit.  He turned to the others and said, "Power must have been routed away from the lifts.  You'll have to take the long way around."  He pointed down a side corridor and said, "This corridor coils around the center of the station, like a spire.  Follow it until you reach level 7."

            "Level 7, got it," Bubbles repeated.

            Blossom nodded, then said, "Commander… good luck."  Gilceeyn managed a small smile back, and headed back into the center of the station to start rallying their defense.  The others hurried off down the cooridor… Silver gave a glance over his shoulder as they went, thinking, _Gilceeyn is amazingly brave, to be so willing to stay and fight in the face of such danger… I admire his courage, but I hope his efforts aren't in vain…_

*          *            *

            Outside Paradise Fringe, the few station-mounted weapons they had were swiveling around to lock onto the enemy.  The ships themselves were nearly invisible due to how dark they were; they each consisted of a central mass surrounded by curved extensions, resembling a large, black claw.  The shape of the extensions shifted slightly from time to time, making them look almost alive.  A glowing red port was the only part that was clearly visible on them, the source of their weapons.

            One of the three ships fired, lancing out with a beam of reddish energy that coiled like a vine… it moved towards the station in an erratic pattern, but also very quickly, reaching it in the blink of an eye.  The beam struck one bank of mounted turrets and blasted them clear off the station before they could fire.  In the meantime, the other two ships approached the station closer, meaning to dock with it.

            The remaining station weaponry began opening fire, striking one of the ships and causing it to veer off, but the other ship came right up to the station's side.  One of the extensions stretched out and touched the side, attaching itself… it melded with the metal, the end of it passing through slowly and creating itself an entrance…

*          *            *

            The ground shuddered beneath the group as they made their way up the gradually winding corridor, and as they regained their balance, a voice announced, "All personnel, Invaders have boarded the station.  I repeat, Invaders have boarded.  Assume all battle positions."

            "Are we almost there?" Silver asked, worried.

            "Almost," the professor answered, "We're on level 6.  One more time around the station and we should be there."

            They continued forward, except for Bubbles, who stopped and said, "Shh!  Do you hear that?"  Blossom and Bubbles stopped to listen, both of them hearing it as well, although it was too faint for the professor or Silver to hear.  It was a soft sound, almost like rushing air, but slithery, and punctuated with a shallow breathing.  The girls could tell it was coming from back the way they had come, and approaching quickly…

            Turning to the professor and Silver, Blossom said, "You two get to the ship… get it ready for takeoff!  We'll try and slow them down."

            "All right," the professor nodded.  "Be careful."  He continued up the corridor, and Silver hesitated only for a moment before following behind him.  Blossom could see that he wanted to stay and help, but also knew that he probably couldn't.  As the two of them disappeared around the curve of the corridor, the girls faced the other direction and readied themselves for whatever was heading towards them.

            It was dark, so for a moment, they thought they were just seeing the shadows of whatever it was… but then they realized that they _weren't_ shadows, but actual creatures.  There were two of them, one crawling along the outer wall of the corridor and another along the ceiling.  They both were a dark, shadowy black, and had an assortment of legs, almost like a spider, which they used to grip the wall.  Each seemed about ten feet wide, although they may have appeared larger due to their own shadows..  The sight of them made Buttercup shudder a little, recalling her fear of spiders, but she pushed it out of her mind and tried to stay focused.

            Lifting their heads to look at the girls, the creatures leapt down from the walls smoothly, almost like a flowing liquid, and by the time they landed on the ground, their shape had changed into something more humaoid.  This form was tall and thinner, but with bulkier limbs, giving the impression that they were armored… it occurred to Blossom first that this was probably closer to their true forms than the spider was, and that they were just changing their shape to suit their needs.  Even closer like this, the darkness of their bodies showed no detail, just a solid, inky color… only their eyes were visible, two bright red shapes against the dark.

            "What _are_ they?!" Bubbles exclaimed.

            "Whatever they are," Buttercup said, narrowing her eyes, "they're in for a world of hurt…"  She and the other girls braced themselves, preparing to fight, and the Invaders watched them silently, studying them for a moment, before they began to move forward.  _I don't know about this, _Blossom thought… _We have no idea what their capabilities are, or how to fight them… but we've got to try anyway…_

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	5. Escape

Galactic Unity 2

By:  Mark J. Hadley

*          *            *

CHAPTER 5:  "Escape" 

            The professor rushed into the cockpit of the ship, sitting down in the pilot's seat and quickly starting up the ship systems.  Behind him, Silver climbed into his own seat and glanced back towards the station, "I hope the girls will be all right…"

            "Me too," the professor replied, examining the controls and recalling how Blossom operated them.  "I think I can plot the course to Centraxia, using that info we received.  As soon as the girls are on board, we can depart."

            "I hope that's soon," Silver said, looking out of one of the ship's windows at the Invader ships outside.  "I'm not sure we have much time left."  He watched as the alien vessels opened fire on the station again, and gripped the sides of his chair nervously, thinking, _C'mon girls, hurry…_

*          *            *

            Blossom listened to the odd hissing sounds the two of the Invaders were making as they approached.  The translators she was wearing didn't interpret the sounds at all.  "Bubbles," she said, without taking her eyes off of them, "can you understand what they're saying?"

            "No… no, I can't…" Bubbles replied, surprised and scared at the same time.  Her powers should have let her understand any living creature, and these things were obviously alive, yet she couldn't make out anything at all.  _Maybe they really _are _from another universe, _Bubbles thought.

            "All right, let's see what you've got," Buttercup said, focusing on the approaching Invaders and grinning to herself.  She dashed forward and swung a punch at one, and it leaned to the side, dodging it… surprised, she followed up with a kick, but it had already leapt into the air, doing a somersault over her head.  As it landed, it swung a heavy fist, slamming into her back and knocking her a few feet down the corridor.

            Blossom cringed, realizing that the creatures were stronger and more agile than she had expected.  The other Invader approached the two of them… thinking fast, she shouted, "Bubbles… Beta-Alpha-2, now!"  Bubbles nodded, and Blossom darted towards it, aiming a flying kick to its head.  As she expected, the creature dodged downwards… right into Bubbles' path, as she charged towards it, throwing a strong punch.

            When her fist connected, though, it got stuck in the creature's chest, feeling as though she had just punched her fist into very fine sand.  As she looked in surprise and tried to pull her arm free, the creature's shape flowed around it, changing form... the bulk of it flowed downwards, and the part still surrounding Bubbles' fist became a pair of arms, grasping it tightly.  Before she could react, it spun in a half-circle, flinging her up against the inner station wall.

            Buttercup, in the meantime, picked herself up from the ground and dove for the Invader that had struck her, in an attempt to tackle it.  The creature reached out with one if its arms, which grew large claws, and grabbed her by the head out of the air.  She struggled and tried to pry the claws off, but they wouldn't budge.  Blossom saw the danger Buttercup was in and shouted, "Buttercup!"

            "Mmmph-mmfmrh!" Buttercup cried out, her voice muffled as she thrashed.  Afraid the creature would suffocate her, Blossom quickly fired her eyebeams at the claw's wrist… the shot hit, slicing through the hand and severing it.  The Invader stumbled back a bit, making a strained, hollow breathing sound that was probably their equivalent of a howl of pain.  No longer attached to it, the hand vaporized into a blackish mist and dissipated, and Buttercup, now free, gasped for air.

            _At least these things _can _be hurt, _Blossom thought.  "Girls," she ordered, "use your eyebeams, they're effective against them!"  Bubbles, who had just recovered from being thrown against the way, nodded and narrowed her eyes, firing eyebeams at the creature who threw her.  It jumped over the beams, growing the spider-like legs again and grabbing hold of the ceiling.  Buttercup's eyebeams caught it before it could move again, though, striking it dead center.  The creature howled and released its grip, plummeted back to the ground… its entire body burst into a cloud of the black mist when it landed.

            "Ha!  Gotcha!" Buttercup exclaimed triumphantly.  "One down, one to go!"  The girls all focused their attention on the last one, which had backed up against the wall further down the corridor, grasping what was left of its arm.  "Better just give up, man," Buttercup warned him.  "You don't wanna go poof too like your buddy there, do ya?"

            The Invader didn't answer, but instead, thrust its good hand against the wall, gripping the metal surface.  As it did, little black tendrils flowed out of its hand and into the wall straight through the surface.  The metal itself gradually started changing from its usual reddish hue to a more black color.  A few lights from interface panels along the wall flickered, and went out entirely, replaced a moment later by deep red lighting, not unlike the glow of the creature's own eyes.  The girls backed up a little in alarm… Bubbles asked, "Wha… what's it doing…?"

*          *            *

            "They're taking too long," Silver said, continuing to glance back towards the rear of the ship, where it was docked with the station.  "What if something's wrong?"

            "Don't worry," the professor told him.  "They'll make it; they've _got_ to."  He looked out of the window at the station, watching as the Invader ships continued to fire upon it.  A few fighters had detached from various docking ports at the far end, and were moving to intercept, but he wondered if they would be successful in driving them off… even though they outnumbered the Invaders, they were probably outmatched.

            They both noticed something odd at the station itself.  Part of it near the docking ring was starting to change color, the metal becoming a dull black… the effect was snaking its way across that immediate portion of the station.  "What is _that?_" Silver asked.

            "I don't know," the professor said.  "But whatever it is, it's spreading this way… we need to detach from the station right away…"

            "But the girls…!" Silver protested.

            "If whatever that is out there incapacitates the ship," the professor told him while working at the controls, "then they'll be stuck anyway.  We'll figure out a way to pick them back up, but for now, I'm cutting us loose."  He finished the sequence and the ship shuddered momentarily as the docking clamps disengaged… the ship drifted away from the station just before the black essence reached their port.  Now free, they knew they had to come up with a way to get the girls on board fast.  And worse yet, their launch hadn't gone unnoticed; one of the Invader ships started moving in their direction on an intercept course…

*          *            *

            As the girls watched the shadows spread across the walls of the corridor, the control panels flashed a few times, and large security doors dropped down on their section, sealing them off from the rest of the station.  The Invader, safely on the other side of the door from them, closed its eyes and concentrated further…

            Inside their locked section, Buttercup approached the wall and started to pull back her fist, "Stand back, I'm gonna break us out…"

            "No, Buttercup!" Blossom said.  "We're close to the edge of the station here, remember?  If you start smashing down walls here, you could rupture this whole corridor, and we'll all be sucked out into space!"

            "Well, then what _are _we supposed to do?" Buttercup frowned.

            "Look!" Bubbles said, pointing out of the observation window on the outside edge of the corridor.  The other girls looked outside and saw their ship, floating back away from the station.  "Are they leaving without us?!"

            Blossom shook her head, "No, they wouldn't do that, Bubbles… maybe it wasn't safe for them to stay docked."  As if to confirm this, a blast shot past the ship, narrowly missing it, and one of the Invader ships moved into view between it and the station.  Their ship retreated further away to a safer distance.

            "_Now_ how are we gonna get to it?" Buttercup asked.  "Our spacesuits are in the ship!"

            "I know, I'm thinking…" Blossom replied, biting her lip.  It was true, they didn't have their suits, but their function was really just to give them breathable air.  The vaccum outside couldn't actually _hurt_ them, so they'd have no problem flying around out there, but with how far the ship was, she wasn't sure they could get to it and inside the airlock in time, especially if it was dodging attacks from the Invaders.

            A hissing noise interrupted her thoughts, and she looked around to try and find the source… she spotted a series of vents along the inner corridor, probably part of an air recycling system.  Flying over curiously, she put her hand near one of the hissing vents, and felt suction coming from it.  Buttercup noticed her doing this and asked, "What is it, Bloss?"

            Blossom felt cold as she answered, "I think they're sucking the air out of this section!"

            "What?" Buttercup exclaimed.  "How did they do _that?_  Aren't there, like, computers to make sure stuff like that doesn't happen?"

            "They probably did it the same way they brought those doors down," Blossom said.  "Either way, we're going to be out of air in a few minutes if we don't do something…"

            "Cover it up!" Bubbles said, flying over and trying to put her arms over the vent.  She quickly saw that this wasn't going to work, however… due to the shape of the vents, they just couldn't cover it all the way.

            "One side, you two," Buttercup said, waving her arms.  "I'm gonna try to melt it shut!"  They stood aside and watched as Buttercup fired her eyebeams at the metal.  She kept it up for a good amount of time, but looked as though the metal wasn't even starting to heat up, let alone melt.

            Bubbles hook her head, "Not working, Buttercup…"

            Buttercup stopped firing her eyebeams and muttered, "Stupid alien metal… well, this really fixes things, doesn't it?  Now what?"

            Looking between the vent and the window, Blossom tried to think of some way out, but was drawing a blank.  Already, the air was starting to get thin, so she made a snap decision and said, "We've gotta try for the ship, it's our only chance.  On the count of three, we take a deep breath and fly out of here, all right?"  Bubbles and Buttercup both nodded, and each of them took hold of one of Blossom's hands, so that they'd stick together.  Blossom focused on the window, and closed her eyes, "One… two…"

*          *            *

            Outside, their ship dodged and weaved around blasts from the Invaders as well as it could.  A few shots came close, grazing off of their shields but doing no serious harm.  Still, the Professor knew they couldn't keep this up forever… they had to leave.  _I just wish I could get closer to the station, _he thought… _I need some kind of opening to get past the Invader ship, but it's just too maneuverable…_

            Silver, in the meantime, kept a watch on the station for any unusual activity.  At the same time, he was studying the way that black essence or whatever it was had spread across the docking ports… _It's almost like a disease, _he thought.  _It's spreading like an infection… but what's it spreading through?  The metal?  Or maybe it's using the sensor arrays or power conduits inside the station itself…_

            As he watched, he saw a showering of debris as something exploded outwards coming from inside the station.  With shock, he recognized the girls, even from this distance.  All three of them were holding their breaths tightly, and flying for the ship.  "Professor…" Silver began.

            "I see them," the professor nodded, but then rolled the ship to the side to avoid another volley of blasts.  "I can't drop the shields, or we're a sitting duck!"

            Silver thought for a second and asked, "Will the cargo transporter work through shields?"

            "I'm not sure," the professors answered, "but it's worth a try.  Hurry, the controls are in the back!"  Silver nodded and quickly moved to the back of the cockpit, locating the cargo transporter controls on the interface panels along the wall.  He started moving the array around so that it faced the station, keying up a sequence at the same time.

            The results looked risky… "Professor, we can get them through the shields, but this thing has a really short range.  We have to get within about eleven meters, and hold that position for about five seconds…"

            "That's better than using the airlock," the professor called back.  "Okay, as soon as there's an opening.  C'mon, girls, hold that breath just a little longer…"

*          *            *

            Blossom was beginning to have second thoughts about this idea as they neared the ship… it was flying around way too erratically for them to find the airlock.  She glanced at her sisters as they neared it, and saw that both of them realized it as well.  They had maybe at best another ten seconds before they had to release their breaths… Bubbles was clenching her mouth shut as best as she could, but her cheeks were turning red, and it looked as though Buttercup was going to give at any moment as well…

            The ship flew closer for a moment, stopping not far from them and turning part of the bottom to face them.  _The bottom?!_ Blossom thought in confusion.  _The airlock isn't there!  We need the airlock!_  She prepared to fly around the other side of the ship, when a blue cone of light spread out from the ship, surrounding them… it was a familiar light, and she suddenly realized what it was, with a surge of relief.

            A few seconds later, they materialized inside the round cargo transport area within the ship.  All three of them released their breaths together, and started panting.  "Oh man… *_pant_*…" Buttercup managed to say, "…that was… *_pant_*…too… *_pant_*…too close…"

            The ship shook from an impact, and then lurched, as it started flying once again.  "C'mon, let's get up to the front, quickly!" Blossom ordered, flying for the exit door.  The other girls followed, and they made their way to the cockpit as fast as they could.

            Silver looked over as they entered, smiling, "Whew… glad you're safe.  I didn't have much time to get a lock on you…"

            "You did great, bro'," Buttercup said.  "Another couple seconds, and we woulda had it."

            "Yeah," Bubbles said, flying over and giving him a quick but firm hug, "Thanks, Silver!"

            The professor said, "All right, everyone, to your seats now…" as the ship, no longer needing to stay nearby, used its superior speed to distance itself from the station and the invaders.  He continued, "There's no time to waste.  I'm going to make the singularity jump as soon as possible."

            The girls and Silver quickly strapped themselves into their seats.  As the professor started the sequence for the jump, Bubbles looked over at Blossom and asked, "Will the station be all right?"

            Blossom watched Paradise Fringe from the window, the ships still doggedly firing at the Invaders in an attempt to drive them back, and said, "I really don't know… we can only hope for them now…"  As their thoughts turned to what they had learned about the Invaders themselves, they realized more than ever how difficult it would be to stop them, and hoped the Repository could find a solution.  The ship's singularity generators activated, propelling the ship into faster-than-light speed, heading away from the battle, but taking them dangerously close to the war itself…

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	6. Nebula

Galactic Unity 2

By:  Mark J. Hadley

*          *            *

CHAPTER 6:  "Nebula" 

            "So, what are we dealing with here, exactly?" the professor said to everyone… they were gathered around a table in one of the chambers of the ship as it continued on its way, auto piloting during faster-than-light travel.  The girls, and Silver, both were trying to put together what they knew about the Invaders in order to start looking for a way to defend themselves against them.

            "They're fast," Bubbles said, "and strong.  I punched one and didn't even hurt it."

            The professor rubbed his chin, "They're probably very resilient to physical damage.  Maybe because of how malleable they are.  You said they were changing shape?"

            "Yes," Blossom nodded.  "Not _completely_, but they could change it a little.  Claws, extra legs… that kind of thing."

            "And what about that infection we saw on the station surface?" Silver asked.  "Was that something of their doing as well?"

            "One of them put their hand to the wall, and did that," Blossom answered.  "Computer panels inside the corridor started acting weird, and then they were taking control of things.  They lowered some security doors around us…"

            "Yeah, and started sucking all the air out of the room," Buttercup added.

            "Hmm…" the professor said, thoughtfully.  "It sounds like this 'infection' of theirs has the ability to override and assume control of computer systems it encounters.  The darkened effect on the metal is likely a residual effect; I surmise it was spreading through the connections running along the station."

            Silver nodded, "That makes sense…"  He hesitated a few moments, before glancing over at the girls and saying, "Wait a minute… girls, those Galactic Monitors that you told us about, the ones that enforce galactic law… they're robots, right?"

            "Right, but what does th—…" Buttercup started to say, but then it dawned on her, just as it did Blossom and the Professor.  "Ohh… man, that's not good…"

            "What?" Bubbles asked.  "What's wrong?"

            "The Monitors are robots," Blossom told her.  "Their systems are computerized.  No _wonder _they're having a tough time fighting off the Invaders… if these things got close to any of them, they could just infect and take control of them, and…"

            "…and then any of the other ones would hafta fight the robots _and _the Invaders," Bubbles finished, understanding now.

            "Exactly," Blossom nodded.  "The Monitors will keep fighting, but their numbers will get less and less, and the Invaders' forces will just get larger."  She paled a little at the thought.  "My gosh… there'd be nothing to stop them, would there?"

            Silver leaned forward and declared, "_We _can.  We're already going to go ask the Repository for a solution; maybe it can find some sort of 'cure' for their control.  If it can figure out something, we can find a way to administer it, and give the Monitors an edge in combat against them."

            "If there are any of them left," Buttercup pointed out.  "Who knows how well the fighting is going?  They might have already lost…"

            "Well, we need to try anyway, if it's our best chance," Blossom said.  The others around the table nodded in agreement, but there was still a sense of doubt… if this had indeed already grown beyond control, maybe there _was _nothing left to stop them.  Even so, they still had hope… the girls knew how important hope was when things looked bleak, since in the past, they never would have succeeded in restoring Earth without it.

*          *            *

            "We're approaching the turn point," Blossom said, looking down at the navigation screen from her position in the cockpit.  "I'll drop us back down to speed in about thirty seconds…"

            Everyone was strapped in their seats for the expected deceleration.  The ship was nearing the nebula where they were going to change direction, in order to avoid being detected by possible Invaders nearby… here, at least, it would be harder for sensors to pick them up.  That was assuming, of course, that the Invaders didn't have technology or some other means that were beyond conventional scanners.  It was a chance they had to take, since there was no straight path.

            As the ship passed through the outer edge of the nebula, it shuddered briefly.  Bubbles gripped the arms of her chair and said, "What's happening?"

            "It's the particles of the nebula," the professor explained.  "We should be all right, so long as we don't stay here for very long."

            "Okay…" Bubbles nodded, but she didn't let go of the chair anyway… at least, until Silver's hand reached over and grasped hers reassuringly.  She looked back at him and smiled in thanks, and he grinned slightly, nodding back.

            "Dropping out of faster-than-light… _now!_"  Blossom said, activating the singularity generators.  The ship was jarred to a stop, and the surroundings finally became visible outside the window.  It was an endless sea of green in all directions, a dense fog of gasses, drifting and swirling about in seemingly random patterns.  It was difficult to see very far through it… no starlight penetrated the clouds, yet they still seemed to have a soft green glow, as though the light of nearby stars were still causing some illumination.  Blossom smiled as she watched out the window, "It's beautiful…"

            "It certainly is," the professor nodded.  "I wish we had time to stay and study it, but the sooner we get to Centraxia…"

            "I know," Blossom said, turning her attention back to the controls.  When she did, however, she blinked a few times at one of the readouts, "Wait a minute… hey, I don't think we're alone here…"

            Buttercup sat up, "What?  What do you see?"  She didn't have to wait for an answer, though, as it slowly became visible out in front of the ship anyway, a large silhouette in the nebula.  It was difficult to tell how close they were, but it looked like they were probably still a mile away or so.  They could see no details, but whatever it was, it had a long, bulky shape.

            "What is that?" Bubbles asked.  "A ship?"

            "I think so," Blossom replied, then nodded at the readings.  "Yes, it's some kind of large, metal object.  Probably a ship.  But what's it doing out here?"

            The professor unstrapped himself from his seat moved up to the front to get a better view out of the cockpit, glancing down at the readouts as the sensors picked up more data.  "Hydroponics… central habitat areas… looks like some kind of colony, or maybe a science vessel.  It's too small to be a station, though."

            They got closer, and as the clouds slowly parted in front of them, more and more details became visible across its surface.  The large scorch marks and holes across its surface grabbed their attention.  Whatever the ship had been before, it was a wreck now.  "Looks like it was in a fight," Buttercup remarked.  "Maybe the Invaders…"

            "I hope not," Silver said.  "That would mean they're in this area.  Maybe it's been here for a while.  But if it's recent… Blossom, can you get close enough to scan for life?"

            "Let's see…" Blossom said, edging the ship towards it a little faster.  As they got closer, Blossom tried to run some scans… she had a little trouble with it, since she had never done it before, but after a few minutes she figured out the correct method and began a scan.  "I don't think there's anything over there," Blossom remarked, checking the readouts.  "I'm not picking up any organics, dead _or _alive…"

            The ship skimmed close to the outer surface of the hull, and it became easier for the professor to examine the damage.  At once, he had a startling observation, and said, "That's strange… it looks like most of the damage came from the inside of the ship."

            "The _inside_?" Bubbles asked.  "Are you sure?"

            "Look at the edges of those large gaps," the professor replied, pointing out the window.  "They're curving outwards slightly, and are scorched along the sections that faced inward.  There's some exterior damage as well, but most of these look like they came from internal explosions."

            Buttercup looked over at the professor and suggested, "Should we fly over and check it out?"

            Thinking about it, the professor said, "All right, but take your suits this time.  There probably isn't any air left in that vessel anyway."  Nodding, she flew up from her seat and headed towards the back to find her suit.  The other girls followed right behind her.  The professor, in the meantime, moved up front to take Blossom's position at the controls of the ship.

            Silver continued to stare out the window, surveying the damage on the ship and watching as the girls disembarked and flew towards one of the large gaps in the hull, going inside.  "I wish I could join them," he said.

            "I understand," the professor nodded.  "You're as curious as I am, probably even more so since you're a Centraxian."

            "Still," Silver said, leaning a little closer to the window, "I feel like I've seen this ship's design before…"

            "Really?" the professor asked.  "It's probably from your memory storage… what else do you know about it?"

            Silver held the side of his head, closing his eyes a moment and trying to think hard, but he grunted in frustration, "I can't remember…"

            "Don't worry about it," the professor told him.  "Everything will become clear once we reach Centraxia."  Silver nodded and settled back in his seat, continuing to look out of the window… the professor guided the ship carefully and didn't stray far from the hole where the girls had entered.  He looked across the controls a few moments, then started experimenting with the communications panel to see if he could open a channel to the radio frequency their suits used.  Switching it on, he spoke, "Girls?  Can you hear me?"

*          *            *

            "We're right here," Blossom replied.  "We can hear you."  She and the girls were making their way down a corridor in the ship… it was dark, but they had switched on their suit lights to illuminate the passage in front of them.  Debris floated around in zero gravity, and it looked as though there weren't any power left in the ship.  Exposed panels were neither sparking nor lit, and the door at the end of the corridor was stuck.

            Buttercup flew up to the door and said, "I got it."  She grabbed the center with her hands and pulled hard, forcing the doors to slide open.  On the other side, it looked like they had made it to the bridge… several seats were scattered about next to various control panels, and a large viewscreen, currently deactivated, adorned one wall.  A chair in the center of the room was likely reserved for the captain.  Buttercup dusted off her hands and flew inside, with the other girls following behind her.

            As they entered, Bubbles glanced from side to side and said, "I wonder what happened… there's nobody here, I mean."

            "They probably abandoned ship," Blossom guessed, looking over at Buttercup, who had moved over to inspect one of the control panels.  "See if you can find a captain's log or something…"

            "Sure, piece of cake," Buttercup huffed.  "I'll just bring it up on the screen with _no power_."

            Blossom shook her head, "Right, right… Well, maybe there's still a little power left.  Try all the panels."  She moved over to one, and Bubbles went over to the captain's chair, to see if there were any buttons on it that worked.  None of the controls seemed to respond, though… the ship was definitely without power, even backup power.

            As she looked at the controls, Bubbles narrowed her eyes a little and said, "Blossom… does this look like…?"

            "Yeah," Blossom nodded a little, still examining the panel she was at, "Yeah, I noticed it too…"

            The professor's voice came over the radio, "What is it?  What did you find?"

            "Nothing," Blossom said, "but these controls… they're very similar to the ones on our ship.  _Very _similar.  Which means…"

            "Is this a Centraxian ship?" Buttercup asked.  "Oh man…"

            _It makes sense that the ship would be empty then, _Blossom thought.  _When a Centraxian dies, their body just kind of breaks down.  But if they're still alive… _Blossom looked up from the controls and spoke, "Professor, do a scan for _inorganic _life forms, quick!"

            "Right away," the professor's voice replied.  After a few moments, he answered, "I'm reading one faint signal.  It's in the section right above you…"

            "Quick, let's go!" Blossom said, taking off out of the bridge to find a way to the upper level.  The other girls followed her through the corridor until they came to a section that had been blasted away, flying up through the gap to the floor above.  As they headed towards the section that was located above the bridge, Blossom couldn't help but wonder how anything could be alive up here, since there still wasn't any air.

            They came to a door that was partially open, and Bubbles quickly flew over to push it the rest of the way open.  Once they good get a look inside, they realized they were in some sort of medical bay.  Medical supplies and debris were still floating around the room, and clouds of frozen water vapor or something else hung in the air.  The back wall was lined with large glass tubes, probably some kind of hibernation capsules.  Most of them were either empty or broken, but one still looked intact, although it wasn't being fed any power.  It was filled with a thick gas, and a shape was barely visible through it.  It also looked like it was moving slightly.

            "C'mon," Buttercup said.  "Maybe we can take the whole capsule back to the ship somehow…"

            "I don't think so," Blossom said.  "Look, it's attached to the ground.  If we move it, we'll probably end up breaking it open."

            "There's gotta be _something _we can do!" Bubbles exclaimed.

            Blossom looked closer at the glass, trying to get a good view of what was inside… as she did, a pair of hands, barely visible inside, slammed against the edge of the glass, startling her and causing her to back up.  She could see that it was definitely a Centraxian inside, although she couldn't make out any details.  Before any of them could do anything, it looked around feverishly, then bared its claws and started striking the side of the glass repeatedly.

            "What are you doing?!  Stop!!" Bubbles cried out, but the Centraxian kept it up anyway.  The glass started to crack, and before the girls could do anything, it shattered, causing a cloud of mist to billow out from the tube, most of it freezing as it entered the coldness of the vacuum.   The large shape inside thrashed, now that it no longer had any air, and it became difficult to see through the crystalline vapors that now filled the air.  As the girls watched, helpless, a soft glow came from it, and its body broke up as its cells began the automated self-destruct procedure that occurs on death.

            After a few more moments of watching the remains of the tube in shock, the professor's voice came over the radio, "Girls?  Are you all right?"

            "We're… we're fine," Blossom replied.  She lowered her eyes a little and added, "We're coming back.  There's nothing left here…"

            "All right," the professor told them.  "We're still near where you entered, come back as soon as you can."

            The girls left the medical center and started making their way back out of the ship heading for the hole they used to enter.  As they went, Buttercup asked, "What was wrong with him?  Why'd he flip out like that?"

            "Probably panicked," Blossom guessed.  "Either way, we need to get to Centraxia as soon as possible now."

            "Why's that?" Bubbles asked.

            Blossom frowned a little, "I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this…"  They made it to the hole and flew out from the vessel, to rendezvous with their own ship and resume their journey to Centraxia.  Blossom hoped that once they were there, they could send out a ship to determine exactly what had happened to this vessel.  She suspected the Invaders were involved somehow, and hoped that this area was still safe to travel through…

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	7. Desolate

Galactic Unity 2

By:  Mark J. Hadley

*          *            *

CHAPTER 7:  "Desolate" 

            "Approaching Centraxia, everyone," Blossom said, watching the navigational screens as she prepped the computer to pull them out of faster-than-light travel at the appropriate time.  There had been some worry that any nearby Invaders would spot them as they left the nebula, but they were fortunate; sensors picked up nothing in the area, and it looked like their passage would go unnoticed.  Even as they neared Centraxia, they saw no sign of them, which filled them with relief.

Nodding at her announcement, the professor said, "Everyone secure yourselves in your seats."

"Okay, Professor," Bubbles said, pulling the safety restraints over herself, and looked over to see Buttercup did the same from her seat.  Smiling, she sat back and said, "Silver, c'mon, you too."

Silver had been pacing anxiously by the window, but finally returned to his seat when Bubbles called him, still not taking his eyes off the window as he strapped himself in.  Buttercup grinned a little at him and said, "Getting excited, huh?"

"I can't believe we're almost there," Silver replied.  "I'm going to lay eyes on my homeworld for the first time.  You don't know how much this means to me..."

            "You're going to love it," Blossom said, looking back around the edge of her seat.  "If we're approaching from the right side, we might be able to spot the Repository from space."

            Silver fidgeted a little more in his seat, then looked over at the professor, commenting, "You haven't seen Centraxia either… I would have thought you'd be as excited as I am, but you seem so cool about it.  How do you manage it?"

            "Oh, I'm excited, all right," the professor replied, smiling.  "Believe me, I'd be hopping up and down in _my _seat as well, if conditions were different."  He stopped smiling and looked forward again, continuing, "I'm just reminded of the seriousness of this trip.  This is no longer a sightseeing tour, after all…"

            Nodding, Silver said, "Yes… do you think the Repository will really be able to figure out how to stop the Invaders?"

            "Perhaps," the professor said, "but perhaps not.  At the very least, the data we're bringing from our encounter should help.  We know they're vulnerable to concentrated light, but resilient to physical damage otherwise.  I hope it's significant, although I don't see any relation to their 'infection' ability."

            "Me either," Silver agreed.

            Before the conversation could go any further, Blossom announced, "Everyone secure?  I'm going to drop us out of faster-than-light…"  Everyone reflexively gripped the arms of their seats to brace themselves, as Blossom activated the singularity generators, jarring the ship to a halt once again.  This time around, the professor recoiled from the stop, but recovered quicker, as he was better prepared for it.

            "Are we there?" Bubbles asked, already starting to unbuckle herself from the seat.

            Blossom nodded, "Yes, we're approaching… the…"  She trailed off as she looked out from the window.  Bubbles looked at her curiously, then glanced out of the window, along with the others, and gasped at the sight.

            Previously, Centraxia had been a sight to behold: a planet covered in cities of gleaming silver, bright even from space.  Now, that brightness was gone… how much of the city lay in devastation was difficult to tell from orbit, but it was extensive.  Large, telltale scorch marks, each maybe a hundred miles wide, dotted the surface.  The sheer contrast with how they remembered Centraxia was staggering.

            A silence hung in the air as they all stared out the window at the sight of the planet, in shock.  After a few moments, Buttercup spoke up, "The Invaders," echoing what everyone else was thinking.

            "Has to be," Blossom agreed.  "My gosh… it's…"

            "…it's horrible…" Bubbles finished for her, eyes welling up with tears.

            Silver got up from his seat and walked slowly over to the window, pressing his hand against it.  His face showed a mixture of sadness and disbelief.  "Everything I ever wanted… it's gone now, isn't it?"

            "Maybe not," the professor pointed out.  "Blossom, is the Repository still there?"

            Blossom worked the controls and scanned the surface.  She checked the readouts, and her heart sank as she reported, "It's… not there.  It's completely gone…"  As everyone's faces fell, she suddenly added, "Wait… but I _am _picking up life…"

            "Survivors?" Silver asked, brightening.

            "Yes," Blossom answered, and smiled as she confirmed the readings, "A _lot _of them.  Biomechanical life signs everywhere… they're scattered, but they're still there!"

            "We don't have time to lose, then," the professor said.  "Find a landing spot and bring us down.  We have to help them, any way we can.  Try to put us near where the Repository was, so we can examine the area, too."

            "Roger!" Blossom nodded, keying in the landing cycle.  Everyone got back into their seats as the ship descended towards the planet.  _It's amazing how often things have changed, _Silver thought, buckling himself in his own seat… _What started off as a voyage of discovery has turned into a mission of war, and now probably a rescue operation.  I can only guess what other surprises are in store for us…_

*          *            *

            The ship penetrated the cloud cover and continued its descent… it was dusk on this area of the planet, but even though it was getting dark, they could see the damage, especially now that they were up close to it.  Some buildings were toppled, others smashed or damaged by weapons fire.  A large number of buildings remained more or less intact, though, which seemed odd, considering the rest of the devastation.  But the city was definitely not sprawling with life like it was before… there was no movement at all, no sign of anyone about.  Noting the lack of visible survivors, Bubbles asked, "Where is everyone?"

            "Probably inside," the professor said.  "Taking cover, or taking care of wounded.  My goodness, look at this place…"  He watched as the ship glided past a building that had partially collapsed, leaning up against the side of another building, debris littering the streets beneath it.

            Buttercup nodded, "Yeah, it's a wreck… how come the Invaders didn't destroy it, though?"

            "Probably wanted to capture it," Silver suggested.  "But… if _that_ were the case, wouldn't they still be around?  I don't see them anywhere…"

            The professor rubbed his chin, "Hmm… maybe they were after something, and once they got it, they left.  That would explain how come they didn't finish it off.  Or maybe… the Centraxians might have found a way to fight back against them."

            "We're almost there," Blossom said, pointing out the front of the ship as she guided it forward.  The site where the Repository used to stand was up ahead… a huge, empty gap where the once towering structure stood.  Now that they were practically there, however, they noticed another significant detail…

            "It's not there at _all?_" Bubbles wondered.  "Not even pieces of it?"

            Blossom shook her head, "It doesn't look like it.  No debris, just a big empty space.  It's like it was just taken aw—…"  She suddenly gasped, as she said, "Professor, maybe that's what they were after!  The Repository!"

            "Yes… yes, that makes sense," the professor agreed.  "All the knowledge about the galaxy they collected was in there… knowledge they could use against us."  He bit his lip as he continued, "If they got a hold of that, we could be in more serious trouble than we thought."

            "I'm bringing the ship down near the edge of the clearing," Blossom said, keying in the final landing sequence.  "We can investigate from there."  The ship lowered slowly down to the ground, landing on the terrain with a few soft bumps and settling into place.  Once they landed, everyone got out of their seats and started heading for the rear of the ship.

            The hatch opened, and they emerged out into the desolate landscape.  There were a few small vehicles that had been abandoned, and one that had crashed into the side of a building.  There were various signs of wreckage littered across the streets, and some rubble from a building that had collapsed across the center of it.  Bubbles looked around, then cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted, "_Hello?  Can anyone hear me?_"

            There was no reply, just an eerie calm, the only sound coming from a slight breeze that blew through the street.  Bubbles looked up at the professor, who said, "All right, let's find them.  Were there any readings near here, Blossom?"

            "Plenty," she answered.  "There were a few in that transport station up ahead."  She took to the air and started flying towards it… the other girls each took one of the professor's arms and lifted him into the air, following Blossom.  Silver spread his wings out and crouched, leaping into the air and flapping a few times to gain some altitude so he could glide after them.

            It took them about two minutes to reach the transport station.  The transport, which looked something like a hovering train, had left the magnetic rail and crashed into the side of the station.  A huge gap had formed where it impacted, which gave them plenty of room to find a way inside.  Blossom reached it first, and carefully drifted in, calling out, "Hello?  Anyone in here?"  The others approached from behind, following her inside, and Blossom continued to shout, "It's okay to come out, we're friends!"

            No answer came for a few moments… then, they heard the sound of some rubble in the distance shifting.  Smiling, Blossom headed further inside… it was dark, but she could still make out the outline of someone climbing up from behind some debris.  "Are you okay?" Blossom asked.

            The figure made its way up and started towards them… as it emerged from the darkest shadows, though, all of them froze in alarm.  It was definitely a Centraxian, but his skin had taken on a darker color, a spider web of black metal covering the surface like a discoloration.  He was clutching his arm, likely due to an injury, and as he approached, he looked up, opening his eyes… they didn't glow the familiar blue they expected, but rather, a deep red.  The eyes showed menace and hatred, but also something else, something that looked like fear…

            "What… w-what happened?" Blossom stammered, backing up a step.  The Centraxian didn't answer… instead, he give a strange hiss and suddenly started moving faster, running towards her.  He let go of its arm, and the claws emerged from the hand, pulled back in preparation to swipe.  With a startled yelp, Blossom leapt into the air, avoiding his swing.

            The group kept their position in the air, looking down at him, who looked back up and gave a snarling hiss, in an animal-like fashion.  Silver was gaping at him from where he was hovering… _What's wrong with him? _He thought.  It was almost like a polar opposite of the intelligent, peace-loving Centraxians he had been expecting…

            "Look!" Buttercup said, pointing… deeper inside the station, they saw more glowing red eyes becoming visible, more of them approaching quickly.  The one on the ground, in the meantime, had unfurled its wings and was preparing to take flight.  Buttercup gritted her teeth and said, "Uh, maybe we should get out of here…"

            "Agreed!" the professor said, and all of them quickly turned to fly out through the gap from which they entered.  As they emerged into the dusk night, they could see the other Centraxians in pursuit, five of them emerging from the station and taking flight after them.

            The professor had already figured it out, and started explaining as they headed back towards their ship, "Girls, it's the Invaders… their 'infection' works on computer systems, and at the cellular level, Centraxians are robotic.  It must be the infection controlling them!"

            "I think you're right," Blossom said, glancing behind her, "but they don't really look like they're under control, if you know what I mean."  The Centraxians were keeping up pretty well… she wanted to fly faster, but she knew that it might cause Silver to be left behind…

            She suddenly realized what it meant if the professor was right, and called over, "Silver!  Don't let them get too close to you!  You might get infected, too!"  Silver nodded back, and tried to keep up with them the best he could.  Their ship wasn't far, and Blossom wondered if they had enough time to get inside and take off before the other Centraxians reached them.

            It didn't look like it would matter, though, since up ahead, they began seeing more shapes taking to the skies… more infected Centraxians.  They were converging on their position, cutting them off from the ship.  "Now what?" Buttercup shouted.  "Do we fight 'em?"

            "There's too many!" Blossom said, trying to think of a solution.  "We have to watch the professor and Silver, too!"  She looked below to see if she could find a safe avenue of escape, but her heart sank as she saw more of them emerging from the rubble and looking up at them.  _We're surrounded! _she thought.  By now, the first Centraxian they had seen had reached them, and as it flapped furiously to catch up, it bared both of its claws.  Blossom was the closest, and raised her arms to defend against the attack when it came…

            A blast of energy abruptly flew up from below them, striking the Centraxian in the chest.  Electricity arced across its frame, and it went into spasms, falling out of the air a moment later and plummeting towards the ground.  Glancing down, Blossom looked for the source of the blast in confusion, and spotted it below: a shuttle-like vehicle amongst the debris.  A Centraxian female was perched on the vehicle's roof, some type of rifle in its hands.  The Centraxian looked normal, not infected like the other ones.

            "Down here, quick!" she called out, and the group didn't hesitate in heading for the shuttle.  As they descended, the Centraxian jumped down from the roof and climbed into the cockpit.  The rear door opened, allowing them inside, and they flew into the back quickly.  The doors closed behind them, and the shuttle quickly sped off into the fields of debris, leaving the infected Centraxians behind.  They gave up pursuit as they were outdistanced, one of them letting out a loud, echoing screech in frustration.

            Inside, everyone settled down on a set of benches in the back to catch their breath.  "Wow… thanks!" Bubbles said, floating up towards the cockpit.  "Who are you?"

            "My name is Jiexela," she quickly explained, not taking her eyes off the shuttle's course, steering to avoid debris.  "It's a good thing I spotted you… we can get you to safety now.  I'm afraid I don't have anything better for defense other than this stun rifle, though, and that only slows them down."

            "What happened to them?" Silver asked.  "Was it the Invaders?"

            Nodding, Jiexela said, "They came here, looking for the Repository.  Our defensive shields held against their initial attacks, but then they started sending troops in.  That's when the first of us started to get infected, which turned out to be a blessing as well as a curse…"

            "What?" Blossom said.  "How could that be any _good?_"

            Jiexela looked back over her shoulder and said, "I'll explain shortly.  For now, we just need to get to safety, before they track us down."  She faced forward again as they entered the darkened tunnel.  Everyone stayed quiet, saving their questions for later.  Silver especially had a lot to ask, and despite all the terrible things that had happened to Centraxia, he found himself thrilled to be in the presence of another of his species.  He knew he would have to do his best not to let his curiosity get the better of him, since he was now more concerned about his future than his past…

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	8. Origins

Galactic Unity 2

By:  Mark J. Hadley

CHAPTER 8:  "Origins" 

            The tunnel continued for several hundred more feet, taking a few small turns, before the shuttle passed what looked like a makeshift barricade.  A few Centraxians stood guard at the sides of the barrier, which had been fused together by broken pieces of debris, and had already opened it up to allow the shuttle to pass.  Both of them clutched stun rifles like the one Jiexela was using, although they looked obviously uncomfortable with carrying any sort of weapon at all.

            Everything was a little more orderly inside.  The sides of the large chamber were covered with arrays of computers, the various terminals manned by Centraxians.  Several doors and another large tunnel lead out of the area; the tunnel was barricaded similarly to the one they had entered through.  The shuttle moved over to a row of similar shuttles off against one wall and set down next to them.  As it did, Buttercup asked, "Where are we?"

            "This was a network relay station," Jiexela said, disengaging the shuttle engines and powering it down.  "Much of the grid is down, but we can still get some information from here, and contact other relay stations as well.  Others across the planet thought the same as we did, that these stations would be safe places to hide."

            They climbed out of the shuttle, and Silver indicated the others, "I forgot to introduce us… my name's Silver, and that's Professor Utonium…"

            "A pleasure to meet you," Jiexela said.  She looked at the girls and said, "I already know who you three are… you must be the Powerpuff Girls, correct?"

            "That's right!  How'd you know?" Bubbles asked.

            "You were part of a large celebration recently, how could I _not _know you?"  Jiexela added, "We received your message about Xianea… we're sorry to hear what happened."

            Buttercup nodded, letting her eyes drop.  "We miss her a lot."

            The professor finished getting out of the shuttle and remarked, "It's a good thing you came by.  I don't think we would have lasted long up there…"

            "Yeah," Bubbles nodded, then remembered what Jiexela was saying on the way in.  "What happened with the ones the Invaders got?  The infection?"

            "I wish I could give a clear answer," Jiexela said, "but until we have the chance to study it, we only have theories."  As they walked by a table with equipment, she set her rifle down and continued, "The best theory we have is that the Invader infection wasn't meant for something as complex as organics."

            Silver blinked, "But we're mechanical…"

            Nodding, Jixela replied, "At the cellular level, yes.  However, each of our individual cells still function like organics from that point on.  They're still arranged in tissues and organs.  The Invaders may have been able to control our cells, but they didn't have the level of control necessary to have the cells perform the correct operations to control the entire organism."

            "I think I see what you mean," the professor said.  "So if they can't control them, why are they acting so violent?"

            "It's likely a side effect of the lack of control," Jiexela answered.  "With so many conflicting instructions from individual cells trying to control it, it's causing a strong level of dementia in the complete being.  And without the cellular programming to guide it, it's causing them to become aggressive and uncontrollable.  But as I said, it turned out to be a good thing, in a manner of speaking, because as they started to change, they lashed out and attacked everything, including the Invaders themselves."

            "Nice," Buttercup grinned.  "Bet they weren't expecting _that_."

            Jiexela shook her head, "Apparently not.  The infected Centraxians ripped through their defenses in waves shortly after it spread to the populace.  That's when we discovered something else: as resilient as they are to physical damage, our claws could hurt them."

            "They can _hurt_ them?" Silver echoed, extending his own claws from his fingertips and studying them.  Before Jiexela could answer, he said, "I see… it's the energy field that surrounds our claws, isn't it?"

            "We think so, too," Jiexela nodded.

            "Back at Paradise Fringe," Blossom told her, "our punches didn't do anything to them, but our eyebeams were deadly.  So energy is their weakness?"

            "I wouldn't call it a weakness, just a vulnerability," Jiexela said.  "Their resistance to physical damage doesn't extend to energy-based sources.  At least it helps us narrow down what weapons we _can't_ use."

            The professor nodded, then said, "Now that we've been filled in on everything, we have another important task ahead of now.  We need to find a cure for this infection, or at least some way to protect against it."

            "Agreed," Jiexela said.  "Hopefully, a cure is being found as we speak."

            "Why hopefully?" Bubbles said.

            Jiexela frowned, "Well, we dispatched a ship not long ago carrying some infected Centraxians that we captured, hoping they could be studied, but we lost contact with…"

            "Wait, a ship?" Buttercup interrupted.  "Oh man, I hope it's not the one we ran into…"  Jiexela looked confused, and Buttercup explained, "There was this ship we found on the way here…"

            "Hey, you're right…" Blossom said, cringing.  "It was a Centraxian ship, too… and that one in the capsule that went crazy on us…"  She looked over sadly at Jiexela and said, "We… didn't find any survivors on board…"

            The Centraxian lowered her eyes and said, "Then the attempt was a failure.  We'll need to try again.  It's important that we get a sample of the infected Centraxian cells to the Repository as soon as possible."

            The last statement took everyone by surprise.  Silver exclaimed, "The Repository wasn't lost?  When we saw it missing above, we thought the Invaders took it…"

            "They didn't have the chance," Jiexela said, with a slight smile.  "We knew they were coming for it, so we initiated an emergency protocol to save it.  It was initially constructed for interplanetary transport in case it was in danger."

            "You mean, you just launched it and flew it to another planet?" the professor asked.  "That's… crazy, but brilliant at the same time…"

            "It's just temporary, until it's safe to bring it back," Jiexela explained.  Glancing around, she said, "Well, we're secure here for now… once things quiet down, we can get you back to your ship safely.  There are places to sleep if you need it, but I'm afraid we don't have any food for organics…"

            "It's all right, we'll manage," Blossom said.

            Nodding, Jiexela said, "We'll prepare for you to leave tomorrow, then."  She pointed towards one of the doors and said, "You'll find everything that way.  If you don't mind, I need to check with the grid to see if any of the other relay stations have captured an infected Centraxian for us to send."

            "Thanks so much," Bubbles smiled, and the group headed for the door, while Jiexela started towards the computer terminals.  Silver hesitated, though, and headed over in the same direction as the Centraxian instead.

            Noticing this, Jiexela said, "Is something wrong, Silver?"

            "No, it's fine, I just…" Silver said, hesitating.  "I've never been around other Centraxians before.  I have… so many questions to ask…"

            "I'm a bit surprised to hear that," Jiexela remarked.  "Where did you grow up?"

             "On Earth, with the girls.  I hatched there recently…" Silver told her.

            Jiexela blinked, "In less than a month's time?"

            "Yeah, why?" Silver asked.

            Jiexela looked uncomfortable for a moment, which made Silver suspicious that something was wrong.  She finally said, "All right… I'll tell you, but please, try not to take this the wrong way…"

            A set of offices in the back had been converted into sleeping chambers recently, each outfitted with a few beds.    The girls found an empty one that was big enough to accommodate them all, and hovered inside.  "At least the Repository's safe," Blossom said.  "That's some good news, anyway."

            "Do y'think it'll still know what to do?" Bubbles asked, landing on the edge of one of the beds and looking over at the rest of them.  "Even if we get to it?"

            Leaning up against the wall, Buttercup shrugged, "I dunno.  It doesn't know _everything_, does it?"

            "No," Blossom said, shaking her head, "and it'll probably need a sample of the infection anyway, like Jiexela said.  If that science ship had made it…"

            The professor came into the room and found a seat on one of the other beds, "Well, we have our own ship.  We could always offer to bring a sample ourselves, but it's awfully dangerous.  And I don't just mean transporting… I mean trying to capture one, as well."

            "Nah, catching one'll be a piece of cake," Buttercup said with a grin.  "But yeah, holding it on the whole trip?  That might be tough."

            "We have to," Blossom said.  "If it's the only way to stop all this, then we'll do it."  She looked over at the professor and said, "I say we do it.  We'll let Jiexela know tomorrow that we're willing to help.  Is everyone okay with that?"

            Before anyone else could answer, Silver entered the room, slowly crossing the room and sitting down in a seat on the other end.  He looked a little depressed for some reason, staring at the ground… Buttercup noticed this, and asked, "Hey, bro, what's wrong?"

            "I'm…" Silver started, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  "I had a talk with Jiexela… Girls, I'm…"  He hesitated again.

            "What?" Blossom said.  "What did she say?"

            Silver opened his eyes again, but continued to stare down at the ground.  "I'm not a… a normal Centraxian.  I'm… what they call an Ephemeral…"

            "What's that?  It's… it's not bad, is it?" Bubbles asked, worried.

            "I'm afraid it is," Silver nodded.  "Jiexela explained everything to me… it's… well, it's due to a condition.  My mother, Xianea, must have had it, and never told anyone… it's a condition where a Centraxian's cellular programming is accessed incorrectly, and causes a very mild and practically undetectable corruption…"

            "Why would anyone access their programming like that?" the professor asked.

            "Because of how an imprint of our knowledge is stored in it," Silver explained.  "The same knowledge that gets passed to their children.  Normally, the technology in the Repository is the only safe way to scan it, but apparently, other species have come up with… less efficient methods, ones that have side effects.  Centraxians that have been scanned this way can develop this condition, and I can only guess that it happened to Xianea at some point."

            Blossom started at that, and exclaimed, "It did!  I remember her saying something about that… it was after we rescued her from the Gyahembu.  During the trip back to Centraxia, we were up in the cockpit, and I was asking her if she was hurt at all while she was captured, and…"  She frowned, and continued, "…and she told me they did something like that.  Scanned her for information.  But she was also embarrassed about it for some reason… and told me not to tell anyone…"

            "So they messed up her programming?" Buttercup said, angrily.  "Those jerks!"

            "It wasn't anything serious," Silver told her.  "But I guess it gave her the condition.  It doesn't affect her in any way, just her children.  So the glitch passed on to me, and made me an Ephemeral…"

            The professor looked concerned, "What does this mean for you, then?"

            Silver closed his eyes again, and said, "Due to the glitch, Ephemerals have extremely accelerated growth, and age much faster than normal Centraxians.  It speeds the time it takes for me to grow to adulthood, but it also… drastically reduces my lifespan…"  Everyone else looked shocked as he continued, "Normally, a Centraxian can live for about three hundred or so years, as it's measured on Earth.  I'll be lucky if I live for one."

            "No!" Bubbles said, flying over and clutching one of his arms, hugging it tightly.

            "Oh man…" Buttercup said, looking sadly at him.  "Can't they do anything to fix it?"  Silver just shook his head silently, and Buttercup's eyes fell.  The professor also looked sad, and he got up, walking over and taking a seat next to Silver, putting an arm around him in comfort.  Blossom and Buttercup joined in the quiet embrace, as Silver's eyes remained closed…

            The halls of the relay station were empty now, as everyone had retired to their beds for sleep.  Except for a few small lights, and the soft hum of the computer systems, it was dark and mostly quiet.  The only ones still awake were a pair of Centraxians, standing guard at the barricade.  Irixe, the first guard, was resting up against the barricade and reading some information on a small data pad.  The other guard, Xaela, kept her stun rifle trained on the darkness of the tunnel.  Not lifting his eyes from the data pad, Irixe said, "Try to relax a little.  You'll wear yourself out from tension alone."

            "I'm fine," Xaela told him.  "It's better to be prepared."

            "I guess you're right," Irixe nodded, and continued his reading.

            Xaela glanced over at him briefly and asked, "That's from the Hkratth library, isn't it?  Is it any good?"

            "It's fascinating," Irixe replied.  "Their history is filled with conflict… they have to be the most war-ridden species in existence."

            Xaela didn't look convinced, "I don't know.  You know those Earthlings who came in here earlier?  I'm told that their history has had its fair share of wars as well."

            "Not like this," Irixe said, shaking his head.  "One of the Hkrrath civil wars lasted nearly to a thousand years.  It was a stalemate, but neither side would admit—"  He broke off from what he was saying as he hear what sounded like metal scraping from down the tunnel.  Dropping the data pad, he slung his rifle into a ready position, and Xaela, having heard it as well, tightened her grip on her own rifle.

            Everything was quiet again, but they didn't budge from their positions.  Xaela whispered, "You see _anything, _you fire, all right?"  Irixe nodded, reaching onto his belt to unhook a small palm light, and activated it, shining it into the darkness ahead.  He moved the light from side to side, but the tunnel looked vacant.  _Probably just some debris shifting, _he thought.  As he glanced up towards the roof of the tunnel, though, he froze for a moment as he saw something there, a pair of red eyes…

            "Up th—…" he started to shout, but then the infected Centraxian on the ceiling flung a chunk of metal debris at him, nailing him in the side of the head and knocking him off his feet, causing him to drop his rifle in the process.  Xaela glanced over in alarm, then quickly swung her rifle up towards the ceiling.  The Centraxian glided down at her with a screech, and she fired the stun rifle point-blank at it, giving out her own cry in the process.

            Irixe clutched the side of his head, and looked over to see the infected Centraxian slam into the ground, electricity arcing across its body.  "He's down!" he said.  "Xaela, you all right?"

            Xaela was clutching her side, marred by a set of black claw marks.  She just stared at the wound in disbelief, then cringed… the black around the edge of the claw marks started to spread outward, and she dropped her rifle as it did, clutching the sides her head with both hands and clenching her eyes shut.  In only a few seconds, her entire body had changed to black, and when her eyes reopened, a deep red had replaced their normal blue glow.  Irixe reached for his fallen rifle as quickly as he could, but by then, Xaela had already turned towards him and pounced, attacking with a swipe of her claws and an animalistic shriek…

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	9. Carrier

Galactic Unity 2

By: Mark J. Hadley

CHAPTER 9: "Carrier" 

Bubbles sat awake abruptly, lifting her head quickly from her pillow and looking around. It was dark in the office where they were sleeping, but she could still see fairly well… the other girls were still slumbering in the bed next to her, and both the professor and Silver were at their own beds, asleep as well. Everything was calm… she slowly lowered her head back down to the pillow, but left her eyes open to look around. _I wish I had Octi here, _she thought. She didn't like sleeping without her favorite stuffed toy, but it was back on the ship, which they couldn't get to right now.

_It's too dangerous to just go back out there and get it, _she reminded herself. _You'll be okay. Octi's not going anywhere, he'll be there when you get back._ She slowly closed her eyes again to try and get back to sleep…

Her eyes flew open again when she heard a faint sound coming from the door, like metal scratching against metal. She sat up quickly again, staring wide-eyed at the door and listening intently. After another moment of silence, she heard a few more clanks, and what sounded like hollow breathing, with a hiss. Someone was definitely at the door. It took her a moment before she recognized that hiss…

The door was forced open, and at the same time, Bubbles let out a loud cry of alert, waking up everyone else in the room. Blossom and Buttercup opened up their eyes fast enough to see the door slamming open, and the outline of a Centraxian in the darkness, its glowing red eyes a dead giveaway to its condition. It let out a much louder hiss now, and pounced into the room, towards the girls' bed. Blossom and Bubbles flew out of the way, but Buttercup, in the center, didn't have a free direction to go. The infected Centraxian pinned her to the bed, pulling back one of its arms and baring its claws. Before it could swing, though, Blossom grabbed the arm and held it back.

Silver and the professor were up by now, and they scrambled back up against the wall. Grabbing the nearest thing at hand, a pillow, Silver held it up protectively in front of him, his blue eyes widened in fear, as he knew full well what would happen if they got to him. The professor, in the meantime, started calling towards the open door, "Help! _Help!_", but as he did so, he saw two other infected Centraxians clambering to get into the room.

"Bubbles, quick, the door!" Blossom shouted, still holding onto the Centraxian's arm. Bubbles immediately launched into a kick towards the door, slamming into the chest of the first one and knocking it back into the second. Blossom, in the meantime, tugged the arm she was holding and pulled Buttercup free, swinging the Centraxian away from the bed and against the wall with a loud _slam_, holding it trapped there.

Outside the door, the other two Centraxians were picking themselves up from the ground. Bubbles prepared another attack, but one of them flexed out its wing, bashing her to one side with it in a surprise move. The other one bounded back into the room, and dove for Silver, who raised the pillow up protectively. Its claws slashed into it, but didn't penetrate through to the other side. "_Girls!_" Silver called out desperately.

Buttercup flew over quickly, grabbing the Centraxian around the neck from behind, "Get away from him, you…!" It reached up and grabbed her head, pulling her free and flinging her up against the wall. Blossom saw this and wanted to help, but it was it was a struggle just to keep the one she had pinned from getting free. In a flash of insight, she pulled it away from the wall and swung it around by the arm, slamming it into the other one as it was swinging for Silver again. The blow knocked out both of the infected Centraxians, landing in a heap next to the professor's bed.

Outside the room, Bubbles was getting back up from where she was knocked, and the last Centraxian was getting ready to pounce on her. Before it could, though, a stun blast came from one side, striking it in the back… it collapsed to the ground, out cold. Jiexela emerged the rest of the way from her own room, gripping the stun rifle in her hands. She frowned a little and said, "That was Aelaxi… she was on internal watch. Is everyone okay?"

"I think so," Bubbles replied, getting up and heading back into their room, "Guys?"

Everyone in the room was staring in shock over at Silver. He was looking down at his arm, which had received a scratch during the fight… it was small and almost unnoticeable, certainly nothing serious, but it still carried a shadowy blackness along its edge. Silver stammered, "I-I…" but before he could manage anything else, the infection spread across his arm, and throughout the rest of his body.

"_Silver, NO!!_" Buttercup exclaimed. Silver's body was now completely covered in black… his eyes were clenched shut, straining against it. _He's infected, _Blossom thought… _There's nothing we can do now. We have to knock him out, fast, or else he could infect others. He'll be a danger to all the other Centraxians…_ She started flying towards him, pulling back both of her arms and getting ready to do a double-fisted punch…

"_Wait…_" Silver grunted, and Blossom stopped in her tracks. There was something different about him… the infection was shifting across his body in an almost cloudlike fashion, small patches of normal, uninfected silver shining through the rest of the black. He strained to open his eyes, which still glowed with a blue light, instead of red like the other infected.

Bubbles edged closer, "Silver? Is it… still you?"

"I… think so…" Silver managed to say. He still looked like he was straining a little, concentrating. "I'm… still in control. This… this hurts a little… though…"

The professor got closer as well, observing him. "Very strange," he remarked, "He's holding it back somehow, but he's still infected." He looked over at Jiexela, who had started entering the room, and said, "Better keep your distance. He may still be a danger to you."

Jiexela nodded. "Agreed. But this is strange… this hasn't happened to any of the others. Nobody has been able to resist the effects before now." Her expression brightened slightly, "If we can discover the cause, perhaps we can find a cure. We must get Silver to the Repository as quickly as possible."

"Right," the professor replied. "We'll need the coordinates."

"I'll make sure you have safe passage back to your ship as well," Jiexela said. She started to reach a hand out to help Silver to his feet, but then stopped and retracted her hand as she remembered that it might not be safe to touch him.

"I got ya, bro," Buttercup said, flying over and hoisting Silver's arm around her shoulder to help him stand up. Silver nodded appreciatively, but he didn't say anything, as he was still concentrating. She asked, "You all right?"

"I'm okay…" Silver answered. Once he got to his feet, he stood on them unsteadily, but after a few moments, he was all right. Jiexela, in the meantime, took a small data pad out and was keying up the coordinates for the Repository. Bubbles looked over at Silver, her face filled with concern. _I hope they can make him better, _she thought. _Silver means a lot to me… he means a lot to all of us. But if he _does _help in finding a cure, then maybe he can help everyone…_

* * *

As the sun rose over the ruined landscape of Centraxia, infected Centraxians circled around in the sky, as though hunting, searching for prey amongst the rubble below. The appearance of the light made them shield their eyes, and start to dive back to the ground, taking cover wherever they could find it. Before the day had completely begun, the once-busy skies emptied out and became as still and dead as they were when their ship first arrived.

Once it was clear, the shuttle emerged from the tunnel, heading back for the ship and weaving carefully around piles of debris. They kept quiet and maintained a careful watch to make sure that none of the infected Centraxians would spot them. Every pile of debris seemed to stare back, as if one of them would pounce out at any moment. Bubbles nervously clung to the professor's arm, and he put a comforting arm around her, though he felt he was probably more nervous than they were. At least _they _had superpowers if anything went wrong.

Thankfully, though the trip was nerve-wracking, it was also uneventful. They found their ship, still intact, right where they had left it. Breathing a sigh of relief, Blossom flew out from the shuttle and over to the ship first, opening the hatch so that everyone could get inside quickly once they arrived. The shuttle quickly pulled up alongside, and everyone filed out, heading up the ramp, except for Jiexela and another Centraxian who had come for extra support.

Blossom waved them inside, taking care that Silver made it in all right, then looked over at Jiexela, who was ready to depart. "We'll be back as soon as we can," Blossom promised. "We'll find a way to beat them."

"You _will_ succeed," Jiexela said with a smile. "Knowledge always triumphs in the end." She raised her hand to wave, and Blossom waved back. With that, the Centraxian turned the shuttle around and started back for the underground outpost. Blossom kept an eye on her until she was out of sight, then flew back into the ship, closing the hatch behind her. The engines roared to life as the ship lifted into the air to begin a quick ascent into space.

Inside, Bubbles and Buttercup eased Silver down in one of the chairs and started to secure him in place. Silver waved a hand and said, "No… let me." With a little effort, he took the straps and secured himself, saying, "I think… I think I'm winning the fight… a little."

"You're driving the infection back?" the professor asked from the pilot's seat.

"Not really…" Silver said, "…I think I'm just… keeping it from taking control… that's all. It's still there…" He closed his eyes for a moment and added, "It's a little easier now… almost like the infection's giving up… but it won't leave."

"Hang in there," Blossom said, then looked out of the ship's window as they entered orbit. "If all goes well, we should be there in probably a few days, right?"

"I believe so," the professor said, checking the navigation computer. "I'm entering the coordinates right now." The computer accepted the coordinates and started to plot a course. As it did, he noticed something and said, "Uh oh…"

"What's wrong, Professor?" Bubbles asked.

Tracing his finger across the display, he answered, "There's no clear path through to the Repository. Invader-controlled space is separating us from it."

Buttercup frowned, "Well, can't we just go around?"

"We could," the professor noted, "but the area is just so large. It would take almost two extra weeks of travel, and it could get larger before we're all the way around as well." He narrowed his eyes, "Our only option is to cut straight through and hope for the best. But it'll be risky."

Blossom said, "We've got our suits, remember? We can fight them off if anything spots us."

"You can't use your eyebeams in your suits," the professor reminded them. "Not without melting the visor. But maybe I can assemble some kind of weapons for you. It'll be a day before we enter Invader-controlled space; that'll be plenty of time for me to come up with something."

The girls thought about it… without a proper method of fighting, they could be in serious trouble. But they had no other option; there was no way of telling how long Silver would be able to stave off the infection, and worse, each day meant more of the region falling under Invader control. They had to act quickly if they were to succeed. Silently, all of them nodded in agreement, and the professor started working on the safest course to take.

Bubbles got into her seat, as did the other girls. As she did, she said, "Silver… I wanted you to know, in case anything goes wrong…"

"I know," he interrupted. "If the infection takes… control of me, do… do whatever you have to do. Contain me if you can… but if I'm a threat…"

"No… w-we'll win…" Bubbles said back, trying to fight back a tear.

Silver managed a smile, "Hey… don't worry. Something tells me… I'm gonna be okay… I just feel it somehow…"

Bubbles smiled a little back at him. The professor finished his computations and announced, "All right, everyone, making singularity jump in five… four… three…" Everyone grabbed hold of their seats to brace themselves for the sudden acceleration that was going to occur…

A loud beeping sound abruptly came from the communications panel, as it flashed 'DISTRESS SIGNAL' in bright letters. The professor reflexively cancelled the singularity jump and exclaimed, "What on Earth…"

"Is it coming from Centraxia?" Blossom asked, worried.

Checking the readout, the professor replied, "No… no, it looks like it's coming from ahead of us…" Raising an eyebrow, he added, "_Way _ahead of us. This is a long-range transmission…"

The screen came alive with static in the next instant. Everyone watched intently as the static cleared, displaying the image of a Galactic Monitor. Though the transmission was slightly garbled, the metallic voice of the Monitor boomed through, "Unit identification, Monitor 98. This unit requests all those aligned with galactic law to come to the immediate assistance of Checkpoint 33."

"Professor," Blossom called out quickly, "bring that up on the navigation computer!"

The professor nodded and started to do a search, as everyone else watch the rest of the message. The featureless face of the monitor showed no emotion, and neither did the voice, yet there was still a sense of urgency as it continued, "Species of temporary classification 'Invaders' have begun approach to this checkpoint. Repeat. Species of temporary classif—" The message faded out before it could complete.

Everyone glanced at each other, and the professor finished pulling up the chart of the area. "Checkpoint 33 is within Invader-controlled space, but they haven't taken control of it yet." He looked at some of the readings in that area and said, "Perhaps the asteroids in that area were able to give them some cover. Whatever the reason, this gives us a unique opportunity…"

"A way through…" Silver mused. "Yes… if we passed through the checkpoint…"

"…we could avoid the invaders completely," Blossom finished for him. "How far from the station?"

"About half a day's travel," the professor replied. "It'll be cutting it close. The battle will be underway by the time we arrive."

Blossom shook her head, "As much as I'd like to help them, we can't. We need to slip by them while they're occupied. Agreed?" Everyone else nodded, and she said, "Then let's go for it."

"Roger," Professor said, keying in the new coordinates and preparing the ship for its singularity jump. He felt nervous as he did… he wish he had more time to come up with an effective solution, but there just wasn't any. _And they're still relying on me to come up with some weapons,_ he thought, _so that we're not entirely helpless if we're attacked._

**_TO BE CONTINUED…_**


End file.
